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^ptrituat 2Montt of tf)e CJ)urtf). 

With a view of removing every possible objection to the principle 
of "DIVARICATION," and establishing ONE only true Religion 
— the Religion of Christ — a course of Demonstrative Lectures will 
be delivered by the Author, in which will be fully explained the 
reason for separating the WORD OF GOD from the WORD 
OF MAN, and proving, to the conviction of the Infidel, the Jew, 
the Gentile, and the Unitarian, the Divinity of Christ, the Rationality 
of the Athanasian Creed, and the Truth of the Holy Trinity. 

Cards for the Twelve Demonstrative Lectures may be obtained on 
application to any of the Publishers. 



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SPIRITUAL 



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C6e Stat&or* 



Divarication 

OF THE 

NEW TESTAMENT 
^Diagmm to illusfrale 

Time and Eternity. 



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FINITE 



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EXPLANATION OF THE DIAGRAM. 



BODY + SOUL -f CONNEXION = MAN. 

BODY— in TIME and SPACE, the Sphere of the FINITE. 
SOUL — out of TIME and SPACE, the Sphere of the INFINITE. 



TIME. 



The residence of FlNITE and MATERIAL EXISTENCES — Animals, 
Vegetables, and Minerals : and the container of all the mutations that take place on 
Earth, where every thing has a beginning, middle, and end; and depends for its 
existence on a determined cause — the oak and the acorn. 



ETERNITY. 



The abode of INFINITE and SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES — God, the Soul, 
Angels : and the depositary of every permanent and immutable principle — the Mental 
Elements and pure Sciences — which are now, and ever will be. 



TO 
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 

HENRY LORD BROUGHAM AND VAUX, 

LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND, 
THE PATRON OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, 

THIS 

DIVARICATION 

OF THE 

NEW TESTAMENT, 

WHICH PROVES, TO THE ENTIRE CONVICTION 
OP 

€f)e Bn&Vtl, tf)e $efo, t^e Gentile, an* tfje Unitarian, 

THE 

DIVINITY OF CHRIST, 

THE 

RATIONALITY OF THE ATHANASIAN CREED, 

AND THE 

ABSOLUTE TRUTH 

OF THE 

HOLY TRINITY, 

IS INSCRIBED 
BY HIS LORDSHIP'S TRULY GRATEFUL AND OBLIGED SERVANT, 

THE AUTHOR. 



THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 

EARL GREY, 

THE 

RENOVATOR OF HIS COUNTRY'S LIBERTIES, 

THIS 

ATTEMPT TO SIMPLIFY 

THE 

CHRISTIAN RELIGION 

IS ADDRESSED 

WITH PROFOUND RESPECT, 

BY 

THE AUTHOR. 



DEDICATION 

TO THE 

gg>otittv for fftomottng £f)ri£ttan Unofoletrge 
antr Cljurrf) Litton. 

Gentlemen — 

In furtherance of the objects proposed by you — and 
to their importance no truly good man can be indifferent — / beg 
respectfully to cast my mite into your treasury of Christian infor- 
mation, by proving, on the solid basis of Reason, the undeniable 
fact of the "Divinity of Christ," from the evidence of the 
Doctrine he promulgated to the world, the absolute purity and 
perfect sublimity of which show at once that it could not be earth- 
born, but must have descended from Heaven. This desideratum 
once accomplished, " Church Union " follows of course ; for, 
where the Doctrine is universal, the community who adopt it cannot 
fail to be unanimous. Euclid affords us a proof of the force of 
doctrine, which can never be refuted, because it is established on 
the solid basis of Reason alone, totally excluding all sensible 
phenomena. 

Let this line of conduct be followed in " Religion ;" it is in 
fact the only rational one, for here we have only to do with spirits: 
God is a spirit, the soul is a spirit — and the subordination of the 
will of Man to the will of God constitutes Morality and Religion, 
which, as Christ says, can exist only in the heart. 

When this spiritual communion is so thoroughly understood that 
the (e Code of Laws " established by Christ is not only separated 



XVI DEDICATION. 

from the historical facts, through which it was given to the 
world, but assumes the strict and positive form of the "Sacred 
Science," then, and then only, will there be a union in the Church, 
never again to be dissolved; and the divine precepts of Christ 
will be as easy to be taught and as imperative as the axioms of 
Geometry. Then, indeed, shall we be enabled to exult in the 
fulfilment of the Prophecy — that "the Gospel shall be preached 
to all the nations of the earth." 

Shoidd this attempt merit your patronage and receive your able 
assistance, this glorious object may soo?i be attained. That this 
happy result may follow our united exertions is the pious wish 
of one who is devoted to truth, and has the honour to subscribe 
himself 

Your fellow-labourer in the vineyard, 

THOMAS WIRGMAN. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

&po$tn»p*)* to fyt Bins — tije ^taO at tfje Cijurd) . . iii 

Diagram of the TRINITY — Body, Soul, and Connexion v 

Explanation of the Diagram to illustrate TIME and ETERNITY . . ix 

Inscription to the Eight Honourable the Lord Chancellor xi 

Address to the Right Honourable Earl Grey xiii 

Dedication to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge . . . . xv 

Division of the "Holy Scriptures" authorised 19 

Extinction of all religious sects 27 

Self-examination productive of Christianity 33 

CANON for deciding on DOCTRINE and HISTORY . . . . ib. 

Argument forthe Divarication 34 

REASON is susceptible of both praise and blame 36 

The precepts of Christ constitute the "Science of Morals" .... 38 

Sublime view of our ultimate destination 39 

PRACTICAL REASON and SPECULATIVE REASON explained 40 

Conviction and Belief explained 41 

Virtue is the moral strength of man in fulfilling his duty 43 

Man is the Scope of Creation 44 

TIME and ETERNITY explained ib. 

Reason and Revelation in perfect harmony 45 

The "Christian Religion" established for all rational beings . . . . ib. 

Description of the Diagram 46 

Spirit and Matter explained 47 

TRINITY IN UNITY, or Body, Soul, and Connexion .... 49 

Supremacy of REASON over SENSE 52 

Sensation is only possible in Extension aud Succession 53 

TIME and SPACE are laws of the "Sensitive Faculty" . . . . 54 

Recounted Sensation is the " Word of Man " ib. 

Communicated Principle is the "Word of Gon" 56 

The " Religion of Christ " is the victory of the good principle over the bad . 57 

The Soul is spirit, its law is REASON . ib. 

The Body is matter, its law is SENSE ib. 

The motives of man are of a Spiritual nature 58 

The actions of man are of a Material nature ib. 

Heavenly goodness — the purity of the motive — good in itself . . . . 59 

Earthly goodness — the utility of the action — good for something else . . ib. 

Virtue can only be satisfied wit'k goodness 60 

Inclination can ouly be satisfied by gratification ib. 

A 



2 CONTENTS. 

PAGZ 

The " Moral Law" shows man what he ought to do 60 

The distinction between good and evil explained ib. 

Obedience to the "Moral Law" is an affair of man with his Maker . . . 61 

Christ's Moral Law explained ib. 

Conscience is the Spirit of Truth ib. 

SENSE is a passive faculty, which receives impressions 62 

REASON is an active faculty, which generates syllogisms . . . . 63 

Consciousness explained 64 

Moral Certainty is produced by REASON ib. 

Physical Certainty is produced by SENSE ib. 

The Laws of Nature are TIME and SPACE 65 

HISTORY is the ground of disagreement . . 67 

DOCTRINE is the ground of unanimity ib. 

Proof of History — possibility and probability . . . . . . .68 

Proof of Doctrine — Conviction ib. 

The "Revelation" of Jesus Christ proved divine .69 

Proof of the Divinity of the " New Testament" 70 

The Soul is an inhabitant of ETERNITY ib. 

The Body resides in TIME 71 

Existences in ETERNITY are permauent, universal, and necessary . . ib. 

Existences in TIME are changeable, particular, and contingent . . . . ib. 

The "Revelation" not ouly true but divine 72 

All other " Religions " proved to be spurious . ib. 

On the "HOLY TRINITY" . 73 

The "Divine Mind" consists of a Triune Essence 74 

To think is impossible without a triad ib. 

Mind -f- Object + Thought = Thing 75 

God = Creator + Creation -f- Connexion . . . . . . .76 

The idea of God involves three elementary notions 77 

The mystery of the "HOLY TRINITY" explained 78 

The word Coeval explained ib. 

Matter -4- Form + Connexion = Thing . 79 

Man = Body -{-Soul -4- Connexion . 80 

Some account of Stonehenge 81 

Principle of Causality in REASON, permanent — in SENSE, changeable . 83 

Cause, Effect, Relation, or oJtoj, stejoj, <rvvt%*is 84 

The "Elements" of the Human Mind are Twenty ib. 

Three Elements are necessary to constitute one thing 85 

Things of Nature exist in TIME ib. 

Principles exist in ETERNITY ib. 

Matter fills SPACE and TIME 86 

Mind exists in ETERNITY ib. 

The Triune Principle fully established ib. 

Axiom — Unity -(-Multitude-)- Totality = a Whole 87 

Conclusion — the root of ONE is three 88 

The nature of Equations explained ib. 

Circle = Centre -(-Radius -(-Periphery 89 

Consciousness consists of three principles of REASON 90 

Table of "Moral Equations" 91 

Mind and Matter settled for ever . . . . » ib. 

Matter is sensation ib. 

Mind is principle ib. 

On the application of the Triune Principle 92 

The Religion of Christ founded on the Trinity ib. 



CONTENTS. 3 

PAGE 

THERE IS A GOD 1 — proved to the conviction even of the Atheist . . . 93 

The Body is composed — consists of matter 95 

The Soul is simple — consists of spirit . ib. 

Principles are necessary . 9(5 

Sensations are contingent ib. 

REASON generates freedom ib- 

SENSE generates slavery ib. 

The Triune nature of the Godhead 98 

The dignity of man consists in generating the Moral Law 99 

PRACTICAL REASON constitutes pure moral motives . . . lo;} 

SPECULATIVE REASON constitutes im\mre physical maxims . . ib. 

Moral Motives lead directly to Virtue , 104 

Physical Maxims tend only to promote Happiness ib. 

REASON incarnate — the Word of God — o Xoyog 10G 

Christ the Saviour and Redeemer of the world 107 

The World not to be destroyed by Fire, but to realise the Kingdom of Heaven . ib. 

The Godhead consists of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 108 

The three states of the Divine Essence, Subsistive, Operative, Relative . . . 109 

God can only subsist in his Triune Essence 110 

Every Object of Nature evinces the Triune Principle . - • . . 113 

The Three Holy Persons — Father, Son, Holy Ghost 114 

Persons only admit of personijication 116 

Things need no personification, being already concrete ib. 

Spirit alone is pure and holy, and resides in ETERNITY . . . 119 

Matter is mutable and corruptible, and exists in TIME ib. 

A Future State proved beyond dispute i'20 

In TIME actions are valued for their utility . ib. 

In ETERNITY motives are valued for their sanctity ib. 

Unitarianism totally annihilated 122 

The HOLY TRINITY explained and established for ever . . . 123 

Thelnfidel, the Jew, the Gentile, and the Unitarian, compelled to be Trinitarians 1 24 

One God in Trinity and TRINITY IN UNITY is the only true worship ib. 

The Athanasian Creed must ever form part of the Liturgy .... >1$6 

Atheism proved to be impossible ib. 

God of the Hindoos a Trinity in Unity ib. 

Trinity in Unity proved both in the Old and New Testament . ... 12? 

The Divine Essence consists of only three persons 128 

A Trinity in Unity pervades all Rational Nature 130 

The Triune Principle constitutes the essence of the Mind .... ib. 
SENSE, UNDERSTANDING, REASON, the three original 

Faculties of the Miud ib. 

Theories neither alter Principles nor Facts 131 

Copernicus destined to correct erroneous theories ib. 

The "Sacred Volume" contains both the WORD OF GOD and the 

WORD OF MAN 132 

Sensation can exist only in Sentient Heings 133 

Material objects are devoid of Sensation ib. 

TIME and SPACE are laws of the Mind 134 

All Nature is subjected to the laws of TIME and SPACE . . . . 135 

River and Pond to illustrate the Triune Principle ///. 

The five senses are the inlets of Knowledge L86 

TIME and SPACE defined as the depositories of sensation .... 137 

TIME is the law of Internal Objects I Mil 

SPACE is the law of External Objects ib. 

A 2 



4 CONTEXTS. 

PAGE 

Every object present to SENSE is Intuition 139 

UNDERSTANDING is the power of forming Conceptions . . . . 140 

The matter of Knowledge is sensation &■ 

All uniting takes place under the Triune Principle ib. 

Every thought, word, or deed, involves a Trinity in Unity .... 141 

Quantity, Quality, Relation, explained 142 

Cause of sensation, Noumenon — Effect, Phenomenon 143 

The constitutive use of UNDERSTANDING generates objects . . ib. 
The regulative use of UNDERSTANDING classifies objects . . .144 

UNDERSTANDING, with its 12 Categories, explained . . . . 145 

Unity involves the Triune Principle 146 

A mathematical Cube explained 147 

Every Object absent from SENSE is Conception 148 

Conception defined as a produce of UNDERSTANDING . . . ib. 

Intuition joined to Conception constitutes Knowledge 149 

Transcendental Philosophy the only true Philosophy of Mind . . . 150 

God cannot make Nature without Man ib. 

REASON the originator of Syllogisms 151 

HOLY TRINITY exists in all its purity in the Kingdom of Spirits . . ib. 

Nature is constituted by SENSE and UNDERSTANDING . . . ib. 
PRACTICAL REASON originates the "Moral Law" . . . .152 

SPECULATIVE REASON generates the lazes of Nature .... ib. 

UNDERSTANDING has twelve laws — the Categories .... 153 

REASON is the key to the whole Christian Doctrine 154 

The immortality of the soul proved ib. 

Divine Revelation points out the only road to Salvation ib. 

A First Cause explained 155 

Deism rejects Revelation . . - 156 

Theism establishes the Divine Revelation of Jesus Christ .... 157 

REASON and Revelation in perfect harmony ... .... 158 

God the Creator, Preserver, and Ruler of the Physical and Moral world . . 159 

The "Sacred Science of Religion" founded in REASON . . . . ib. 

Every spiritual Object is an IDEA 161 

REASON, by its six laws, constructs the Spiritual World . . . . ib. 

Spirits proved to exist 162 

Man, as a being of SENSE, is Mortal 163 

Man, as a being of REASON, is Immortal ib. 

SENSE furnishes laws for the Body 164 

REASON generates laws for the Soul ib. 

The laws of SENSE are Finite 166 

The laws of REASON are Infinite ib. 

Knowledge is produced by SENSE 167 

Belief originates in REASON ib. 

Rational Belief surpasses all Knowledge ib. 

Faith is Belief in things unseen ib. 

Mathematical figures are secured by Belief 168 

The Laws of Morality are generated by PRACTICAL REASON . . 169 

The Laws of Nature are generated by SPECULATIVE REASON . . ib. 

Laws originate in Mind, not in Matter ib. 

Goodness is designedly to follow the Moral Law 170 

Wickedness is designedly to break the Moral Law ib. 

Motives originate in spirit — the Soul ib. 

Actions arise from matter — the Body ib. 

The Moral Law revealed to us by Jesus Christ . .... 171 



CONTENTS. 5 

PAGE 

Sacred Axioms explained 172 

The Sacred Volume is the WORD OF GOD ib. 

The Historic page is the WORD OF MAN 173 

HISTORY and DOCTRINE are incongruous ib. 

Principle springs from REASON 175 

Facts are grounded in SENSE . . . . ib. 

SENSE constitutes material nature . 176 

REASON constitutes spiritual nature ib. 

The Triune Principle is coeval with the Human Mind 177 ' 

Geometrical figures reside in ETERNITY 178 

Material figures reside in TIME . ib. 

Resurrection explained ib. 

The Human Mind consists of Twenty elements 180 

SENSE . . . . makes Intuitions 183 

UNDERSTANDING makes Conceptions ib. 

REASON . . makes Ideas . ib. 

The right use of REASON explained 184 

The Divinity of the Christian Religion proved 185 

The Christian Religion the only one for all Rational Beings .... ib. 

REASON is legislative in the Kingdom of God ib. 

Conscience pronounces sentence on the mau of SENSE .... ib. 

God the Knower of Hearts 186 

The Duty of Man to have Religion ib. 

The existence of God, the immortality of the Soul, and the Freedom of the Will, 

proved ib. 

The Triune Principle forms the foundation of all thinking .... 187 

In Judging do not take appearance for truth ib. 

Judging requires subject, predicate, copula 188 

Subject in a judgment is INTUITION 189 

Predicate in a judgment is CONCEPTION ib. 

Copula is the connexion or subsumpting intuition under conception . . . 190 

A Stone Wall is only a mental representation — INTUITION . . . 192 

CONCEPTION is the form of all Knowledge ib. 

The hinderance to all enlightenment exposed 193 

Logic is the author of an inveterate prejudice ib. 

REASON will ultimately overcome every prejudice 194 

Rivers, Trees, Oceans, &c. are only INTUITIONS ib. 

Knowledge is wholly in the Mind ib. 

INTUITION is the matter of Knowledge 195 

CONCEPTION is the form of Knowledge ib. 

Extension and Succession are iheforms of INTUITION 196 

Constitutive and Regulative use of UNDERSTANDING . . . .198 

Aristotle's Judgment proved 200 

The twelve Categories are iheforms of CONCEPTION 201 

UNDERSTANDING consists of twelve laws — Categories . . . 202 

The Categories produce twelve Judgments ib. 

The Logical illusion of misi aking things for thoughts explained . . . . 203 

Logic employed its own phraseology . 204 

TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY will have its technics . . ib. 

Almanacs err in saying the sun rises ib. 

Two distinct languages, that of Science and that of the World . . . . 205 

The Mind constructs all the objects of Nature ib. 

The Soul is an immaterial spirit m ETERNITY 20? 

Nature is generated by the Categories 908 

a 5 



6 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Ideas of REASON arise from the Categories 210 

Material 'World generated by SENSE 211 

Spiritual World generated by REASON ib. 

The Word of God is communicated through SENSE 212 

The "Word of Man is communicated through REASON .... ib. 

Logic arranges the objects of Nature 213 

Transcendental Philosophy constructs Nature ...... ib. 

Only three unities — INTUITION, CONCEPTION, IDEA . . . 214 

Immediate Judgments consist of Subject, Predicate, Copula .... 215 

Mediate Judgments consist of Subject, Predicate, Middleterm . . . 216 

Man is endowed with REASON — is free ib. 

Animal is governed by INSTINCT — is constrained to. 

The Jew, the Gentile, and the Infidel, made Christians . . . . 217 

Copernicus corrected an inveterate prejudice ib. 

Every rational being made a devout Christian ib. 

Judgments of SENSE are instinctive 218 

Judgments of REASON are deliberative ib. 

Syllogism consists of INTUITION, CONCEPTION, IDEA . . . 219 

All Judging is grounded on the Triune Principle 220 

Syllogism analyzed 221 

Syllogism proved to be merely an equation 222 

Logic simplified — Barbara, Celerent, Darii, exploded 223 

A single thought is impossible — it must be a triad 224 

Judgments of REASON produce Conviction 225 

Judgments of SENSE produce Demonstration ib. 

God is a compound of Triads ib. 

The distinction between INSTINCT and REASON settled . . .226 

Matter moves, Spirit thinks ib. 

Motion defined ib. 

Thinking implies Choice 227 

Motion requires Compulsion ib. 

Matter is governed by INSTINCT 228 

Mind is governed by REASON ib. 

The virtuous are devoted to REASON 229 

The vicious are devoted to SENSE ib. 

Speculation explained ib. 

Pure Science is pure principle 230 

Empirical Science is matter of fact ib. 

Matter and M ind exemplified — in a pair of dice ib. 

To fulfil the Gospel, REASON is required 231 

Man has a soul to be saved, animal not 232 

The nail never reasons with the hammer 233' 

The distinction between right and wrong explained ib. 

Virtue is the victory of REASON over SENSE 234 

Vice is the ascendancy of SENSE over REASON ib. 

The freedom of the Will proved ib. 

Matter is impelled — moves 235 

Spirit acts spontaneously — thinks ib. 

Matter displays the laws of INSTINCT ib. 

Spirit originates the laws of REASON ib. 

SENSE generates the laws of Material Nature to. 

REASON originates the laws of Moral Nature ib. 

The barrier between spirit and matter displayed 236 

Providence adjusts the difference between contending INSTINCTS . . 237 



CONTENTS. 7 

PAGE 

Life is animated matter, Death is inanimated matter 237 

No animal judges but Man 238 

The Science of Mind determines between REASON and INSTINCT . ib. 

Matter obeys the law of INSTINCT 239 

Mind obeys the law of REASON ib. 

Equity proved to be the law of equilibrium 240 

Equity exemplified by the tale of the tubs ib. 

Man is conscious of his INSTINCT — Animal is not 241 

Man is an accountable being — Animal is not ib. 

INSTINCT assumes the appearance of choice — the swan .... 242 

INSTINCT obeys the law of impulse — the dog ib. 

Mind acts on Mind, Matter acts on Matter 243 

INSTINCT exemplified in the bee ib. 

The objects of INSTINCT are palpable to SENSE 244 

The objects of REASON are invisible to SENSE ib. 

REASON originates the laws of Freedom ib. 

INSTINCT obeys the laws of Necessity ib. 

The Elephant has not REASON but INSTINCT 245 

INSTINCT exemplified in feats of horsemanship 246 

Centrifugal and centripetal forces are laws of matter 247 

TIME is the law of matter — change ib. 

ETERNITY is the law of spirit — permanence ib. 

INSTINCT exemplified by Chemical affinity 248 

INSTINCT displayed in the Vegetable Kingdom 249 

INSTINCT traced in the caterpillar 250 

Volcanoes the effect of INSTINCT in matter 251 

Physical Anatomy proves the law of INSTINCT ib. 

Mental Anatomy establishes the law of REASON ib. 

The essence of thinking is Consciousness ib. 

The nerves act instinctively in conveying sensation 252 

The difference between Mental and Material things explained . . . 253 

The eye is generated and governed by INSTINCT ib. 

Spirit thinks, Matter moves 254 

The Stomach governed by INSTINCT . ib. 

INSTINCT proves the existence of God 255 

REASON is the law of Spirit— INSTINCT is the law of Matter . . 256 

The line between REASON and INSTINCT settled ib. 

Matter exists in TIME, Spirit exists in ETERNITY .... ib. 

Thought evinced by Syllogism 257 

Matter proved by Motion ib. 

The pure Sciences are in ETERNITY ib. 

The sensible World is in TIME ib. 

The Infinite Spirit is the Creator of Matter ib. 

The Finite Spirit is the Regulator of Matter ib. 

Animal is animated matter — moves ib. 

Man is rational matter — thinks ib. 

The Planetary System does not think, but moves 258 

Colloquy between Mercury and Venus 259 

Elliptical orbits of the Planets 260 

Matter exists in three states, solid, fluid, aeriform ib. 

Mind has three unities — INTUITION, CONCEPTION, IDEA . . 261 

INTUITION forms the solid state of matter ib. 

CONCEPTION forms the fluid state of matter 262 

IDEA forms the aeriform state of matter ib. 



8 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Christ's illustration of spirit 262 

Without REASON we should have no IDEA of God, the Soul, the 

Moral Law 263 

REASON makes man an accountable being ib. 

INSTINCT is the law of God — therefore, necessary ib. 

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, explained . . . . 264 

God the Father is the Creator of all worlds . . . . . . . ib. 

God the Son is the Revealer of the Father's will . . " . . . ib. 

God the Holy Ghost is the Regulator of Moral actions ib. 

The Revelation of Jesus Christ made to the REASON of man . . . 265 

Man is the Scope of Creation ib. 

Severe trials are favourable to virtue 266 

Earthly Happiness does not beuefit the Soul ib. 

REASON commands us to be strictly virtuous 267 

Right and Wrong explained ib. 

SENSE generates self-love, which leads to Happiness 268 

REASON generates morality, which leads to Virtue 269 

Antagonism between Virtue and Happiness proved 270 

The Highest Good consists in Virtue being the cause of Happiness . . 272 

Virtue is an infinite end of man in ETERNITY 273 

Happiness is a finite end of man in TIME ib. 

REASON generates Free Will 274 

SENSE produces Necessity ib. 

Mathematical figures are mental, and exist in ETERNITY 275 

Mathematical symbols are sensible, and exist in TIME ib. 

PRACTICAL REASON is Free Will 277 

Scriptural authority for the "Divarication" ib. 

To differ about a principle is impossible ...*.... 278 

To agree about a fact is impossible ib. 

The Religion of Christ is the only true one ib. 

Words are signs of ideas, and only types of principle 279 

Difference of opinion with regard to the Divarication 280 

Facts cannot be guides for our moral conduct ib. 

The divinity of the New Testament proved 281 

The WORD OF GOD alone can satisfy REASON ib. 

The doubts of the Infidel annihilated ib. 

Infidels must become sincere Christians 282 

Bigots take the Scripture on faith ib. 

Authority cannot blind REASON . . ib. 

When Christ taught there were no Gospels 283 

Superstition extinguishes enlightenment ib. 

The Bigot betrays moral cowardice ib. 

The Infidel displays moral courage < . . . ib. 

The True Believer acts from Conviction 284 

St. Paul's is Scientific Faith ib. 

The Finite Mind is only possible through the Infinite Mind . . *. 285 

Proof of the Triune Principle ib. 

The universal or Catholic Faith explained 286 

The Belief in God proved to Conviction 287 

The New Testament cannot be too amply displayed ib. 

Divarication is the key to the Sacred Truths 288 

The apparent mystery in the Testament explained ib. 

He who is angry with his brother tvithout a cause is icrong 289 

The meaning of the words Raca, Judgment, Hell, doubtful .... ib. 



CONTENTS. 9 

PAGE 

Did Christ teach in Greek or Hebrew ? 290 

A New Translation of the first verse of St. John, making Xoyog REASON . ib. 

A scientific proof of the truth of the Divine Revelation .... 291 

The WORD OF GOD is pure spirit, and regards our Eternal Welfare . 292 

The "WORD OF MAN is matter, and concerns our Temporal Welfare . ib. 

Neither DOCTRINE nor HISTORY can be dispensed with . . . 293 

DOCTRINE is susceptible of Conviction, HISTORY is not . . ib. 

Science of Pure Morality revealed by Jesus ib. 

REASON leads directly to Christianity 294 

The Supreme Reason is God, and revealed by Jesus Christ . . . . ib. 

Testimonials in favour of the Divarication 295 

Critical strictures beneficial to the cause of truth 296 

Morality and Religion erected into a Sacred Science .... 297 

Faith is stronger than Knowledge ib. 

The Existence of God is the first Axiom in the Sacred Science . . . ib. 

The Immortality of the Soul is the second Axiom in the Sacred Science . . 298 

A Future State is the third Axiom in the Sacred Science .... ib. 

Divarication must produce perfect unanimity among men ib. 

The Divine Mind cannot reveal itself to matttr 299 

Superstition is the bane of Society ib. 

Dogmas are founded on HISTORY 300 

The difference between the type and the essence explained ib. 

The Divine Decrees will be ratified in ETERNITY . . . .301 

Superstition often mistaken for Religion ib. 

The Worship of the Mexicans 302 

The Heathens addicted to Human Sacrifices 303 

Religious exhibitions in the Temples of Mexico — Too-Calli .... ib. 

The prodigious effusion of blood for the name of Jesus 304 

Religion cannot be founded on a Dogma 305 

Worshipping material substances is Idolatry ib. 

Paganism and Catholicism compared 306 

Purification and Redemption elaborated ib. 

Infidelity, Bigotry, and Fanaticism, cured by REASON . . . .307 

The Elements of the Mind are now discovered ib. 

The CRITIC OF PURE REASON contains the Science of Mind . ib. 

Divarication founded on the Science of Mind 308 

Christ reproves Hypocrites 309 

The Providence of God exemplified it). 

The Science of Mind alone secures the WORD OF GOD . . .310 

Key to understand the Scripture ib. 

Superstition is the deification of matter ib. 

Religion is the deification of mind 311 

Christ walked with the law before him ib. 

The Holy Ghost — the spirit of truth — is Conscience ib. 

The only true Worship is a Trinity in Unity in the Godhead . . . ib. 

To Worship the Body and Blood of Christ is gross Idolatry . . . . 312 

Christ is the Xoj/oj, the word, and constitutes a part of God .... ib. 

Only ONE God consisting of three persons ib. 

The Bible is the Christian's treasury 313 

Principle of divarication into DOCTRINE and HISTORY . . . ib. 

REASON generates pure precept, that is, unanimity ib. 

SENSE produces discordant opinion, that is, disagreement . . . . ib. 

Wrangling and strife about Religion for ever quelled ib. 

The Science of Religion produces perfect unanimity among men . . ib. 



10 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The Kingdom of Heaven is -within you 314 

No Religion but that of Christ ib. 

All deviation from Divine Revelation is Superstition .... ib. 

A New and Eternal Gospel is foretold in the Scripture . . . . ib. 

Superstition denounced by Jesus Christ 315 

Sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven ib. 

Conscience is in our own keeping ib. 

Religion is not founded on a Dooma but on REASON -. ... ib. 

REASON is a faculty which acts of itself — Spontaneity .... 316 

SENSE must be acted upon — Receptivity ....... 31? 

Whatever acts of itself must be Spirit — thinks ib. 

Whatever is acted upon is Matter — moves ib. 

Autonomy of the Will generates Morality . 318 

Heteronomy of the Will generates Superstition ...... ib. 

Man imposes the Moral Law on himself 319 

The virtuous Man "realises the mode in which Reason acts" . . . . ib. 

Conscience is an internal judge who watches our actions .... 320 

Free Will determines itself to action ib. 

Virtuous actions are performed for the sake of the law — disinterested . . ib. 

Vicious actions promote some other end, and are — interested . ... ib. 

Wealth and Power can never satisfy man ib. 

Ground of the never-ceasing inquiry — cut bono? 321 

SENSE is the ground of experience — HISTORY .... ib. 

REASON is the ground of morality — DOCTRINE .... ib. 

Critic of Practical Reason contains the Science of Morals . . . ib. 

" Thou shalt not lie" is amoral Commandment 322 

Belief is the measure of ignorance, Conviction the standard of truth . . ib. 

Every Effect must have a Cause — an axiom of our Thinking Faculty . . 323 

Scientific Faith confirms the Divine Revelation ib. 

The Bible is a book made by hands — material ib. 

The Science of Morals is wholly in the mind — spiritual .... ib. 

Science can exist only in a Mind, not in a Booh ib. 

Christ employed no book to teach Morality 324 

The Parable of the sower explained . ib. 

Whoever worships the Book sins against the Holy Ghost .... 325 

Who by searching shall find out God? — every sincere inquirer . . . . ib. 

Consciousness decides in material things 326 

Conscience decides in spiritual things ib. 

The WORD OF MAN is the action of matter upon matter . . . ib. 

The WORD OF GOD is the affair of spirit with spirit ib. 

Sound is a sensation produced on the nerves of the ear ib. 

Ring the bell under the exhausted receiver — then define sound . . . . ib. 

Sound produces the most delightful feelings 327 

Christ used Parables, being known to all his hearers ib. 

Written Books might be mistaken . ib. 

Mathematical figures cannot be made of matter ib. 

Fatal error to mistake the type for the essence ib. 

The Quakers' notion of silent prayer 328 

Worship is an act of the soul with its Maker ib. 

The communion of spirit with spirit is the essence of prayer . . . . 329 

Want of sincerity detected by the Knower of Hearts 330 

The Author's motives will be impugned ib. 

Christ says: — Judge not, that ye be not judged ... . . . ib. 

First cast the beam out of thine own eye 331 



CONTENTS. 1 1 

PAGE 

The Author warned not to Divaricate the Scripture 331 

Whoever makes innovations must bear abuse ib, 

Time discovers truth, and posterity does justice . . , . . 332 

Science crushes Superstition ib. 

Extraordinary zeal for the Scripture is now evinced . . . . . ib. 

Superstition is founded on the WORD OF MAN 333 

Religion is founded on the "WORD OF GOD ib. 

Moral Philosophy establishes the Religion of the heart . . . . ib. 

Every Human Mind is a Temple of Religion . ... . . . ib. 

Buchanan's account of Pagan Idolatry ib, 

Remusat's history of the Buddhist's Superstition ib. 

Milton's apostrophe to Philosophy and Religion ib. 

Superstition is a gross error in judgment 335 

Divine Revelation shall be embraced by the Savage . . . . ib. 

PRACTICAL REASON gives the true KaQoKiKog to Religion . . 336 

SENSE informs us of the Human Nature of Christ .... ib. 

REASON proves the Divine Nature of Christ ib. 

HISTORY must be tried by possibility and probability . . . . . ib. 

DOCTRINE is universally proved by Conviction . . . . ib. 

Niebuhr proves early History to be fabulous . ib. 

Infidels exceed the Jews in their hatred to Christ 337 

No good results from denying the existence of Christ ib. 

Geometry would not suffer from denying Euclid ib. 

The Morality in the New Testament confirmed by REASON . ... 338 

The Narrations in the New Testament come through SENSE . . . ib. 

The birth, ministry, and crucifixion, of Jesus Christ authenticated . . . ib. 

Who will deny that Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea? . . . ib. 

The power of life and death wrested from the Sanhedrim . . . . 339 

Did Caesar reign or did he not ? ...... ib. 

HISTORY is a record of events in TIME ib. 

DOCTRINE is a development of principles in ETERNITY . . ib. 
Divarication proves the discordance between HISTORY and DOCTRINE ib. 

The proof of DOCTRINE is the universal assent of mankind . . . 340 

The proof of HISTORY is. the contingent belief of mankind . . . ib. 

The Diagram shows a trinity in light — blue, red, yellow ib. 

Newton demonstrates the Trinity in Unity in light .... 341 

Every apparent oneness is a Trinity in Unity 342 

Trinity in Unity constitutes the essence of God ..... 343 

Religion is awakened by SENSE and confirmed by REASON . . ib. 

A medal worn by the disciples of Jesus Christ ib. 

Dr. Walsh's account of the discovery of this medal . . ... 344 

Fae-simile of the medal presented by the Rev. Dr. Walsh .... 346 

Explai ation of the Hebrew inscriptions on the medal . ... ib. 

The history of the medal confirmed by Lentulus 348 

Publius I.entulus's letter to the Roman Senate 349 

That Christians exist at present is quite certain ..... 350 

The early period of Christianity proved by the persecutions . . . ib, 

Nero, Domitian, and others, persecuted the Christians .... 351 

Christianity established by Constantine the Great, 306 A. D. . . . ib. 

Council at Nice in Natolia held 325 A. D. ib. 

Athanasian Creed voted canonical ib. 

The Four Gospels selected which compose the New Testament . . . ib, 

Primitive Christianity corrupted for worldly purposes .... 352 

Divarication restores Christianity to its primitive purity . . . ib. 



12 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Christianity established for ever by REASON 352 

Infidels attempt to repudiate Christianity 353 

Providence defeats these attempts by making them promote Christianity . ib. 

Christ is Perfect God and Perfect Man ib. 

WORD OF GOD — the Xoyos — is divine— proved by REASON . . ib. 

WORD OF MAN-s«safi'w — is human — proved by SENSE . . ib. 

Holy Ghost is the spirit of truth — Conscience 354 

Humanity is imperfection — Divinity is perfection . . . . . ib. 

Christ disputed with the Doctors when twelve years old 355 

Infidels prove the humanity of Christ , . ib. 

Christ's ministry commenced when he puzzled the Doctors . ... 356 

Infidels are the true supporters of Christianity ib. 

Bigots convert Religion into Superstition ib. 

Infidels are in fact the only true Christians ib. 

Bigots build their Religion on an absurdity 357 

Spirit can only inhabit ETERNITY . ib. 

Matter must exist in TIME ib. 

Bigots are in error when they consider themselves the only true Believers . ib. 

Divarication exposes this sophistry 358 

When REASON ceases to act the " Moral Law" will cease to command . ib. 

Jesus Christ overthrew the tables of the Money Changers . ... ib. 

The Infidels say spirit cannot move matter ib. 

Infidels impeach the morality of Christ 359 

Infidels prove the humanity of Christ ib. 

Bigots want the moral courage to examine their own Dogma 360 

Divarication will rouse both Temporal and Spiritual rulers . . . ib. 

Divarication purifies all Religions 361 

The Star Chamber would persecute the Divarication ib. 

The Author visited with a severe indisposition ib. 

The Author is summoned to give an account of his deeds ib. 

Is this Divarication calculated to do good or harm? . 362 

The Infidel says it is immoral in Christ to take the ass and foal . . 363 

The Infidel charges Christ with irreverent language . . ' , . ib. 

Christ declares himself to be a man ib. 

The humanity of Jesus Christ established ib. 

The humanity of Christ proved by the words, Eli! Eli! lama sabachthani! . 364 

Infidelity turned against itself ib. 

The Infidels have proved that Christ is perfect. Man 365 

This statement verified. by the Saviour himself ib. 

The Rational investigator of Holy Writ is the Primitive Christian . . ib. 

REASON is not to be shaken by Fanaticism ib. 

Bigotry deters honest minds from investigation 366 

The worldly acts of the Saviour afford no rule of conduct . . ... ib: 

Religious controversy shall for ever cease 367 

Christ taught One Universal Religion ib. 

The Man Christ was the true Messiah ib. 

Christ's Atonement leads to the Throne of Mercy ib. 

Christ proves his Divine Nature in saying / and my Father are ONE . ib. 

Christ begotten before all worlds 368 

There are not Three Gods but only ONE God ib. 

Christ taught the DOCTRINE of the Trinity in Unity . . . 369 

The soul is at present a member of ETERNITY ib. 

The principle of Causality proves a Trinity in Unity 370 

Christ says, The DOCTRINE is from my Father — hence he is the Son . ib. 



CONTENTS. 13 

PAGE 

He is no Father who never had a Child 370 

There can be no Effect without a Cause ib. 

What we term things are merely thoughts ib. 

Principles are simple and immutable — in Eternity 371 

Things are composed and changeable — in Time ib. 

Divinity lasts for ever ib. 

Humanity is subject to decay ib. 

SENSE, or Instinct, guides the Elephant and the Ass 372 

REASON, or Freedom, guides Man ib. 

Christ is only divine when he identifies himself with his DOCTRINE . . ib. 

Christ's body consisted of matter like that of other men . . . ib. 

Christ's divinity is in his Morality , 373 

Christ the only begotten Son of God ib. 

The miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary explained ib. 

To doubt the inspiration of the Scriptures is impossible .... 374 
Inspiration is "the true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the 

world" ib. 

PRACTICAL REASON is the touchstone to try inspiration . . ib- 

The divine laws of Jesus Christ lead man to his Maker 375 

The Holy Ghost is the spirit of truth awakened by Christ .... ib. 

Christ's DOCTRINE is the way to the Kingdom of Heaven . . . ib. 
Christ's DOCTRINE comes from God and is divine . . . .376 

Christ is an example of fulfilling the Moral Law ib. 

Science of Mind proves the truth of Christ's Doctrine to absolute Conviction 377 

The chosen people of God may look in vain for another Messiah . . . ib. 
Divarication separates precepts fiomfads — DOCTRINE from HISTORY ib. 

Jew, Hindoo, Mahomedan, and Pagan, must all be true Christians . . . ib. 

Man arrives at the moral law through REASON 378 

Animal cannot be moral — it acts through SENSE ib. 

The WORD OP GOD not known till preached by Christ .... t&. 

PRACTICAL REASON forms no part of Nature — is free . • . ib. 

SPECULATIVE REASON refers wholly to Nature — is constrained . ib. 

Can the planets quit their course or the waters run upwards ? . . . ib. 

To be Reasonable is to be good, to be virtuous 379 

The Moral Law is the law of God . . 380 

Autonomy of the Will is the principle of the Moral Law . . . . fft. 

Heteronomy of the Will opposes Morality ib. 

Man is at present a member of the Kingdom of God ib. 

The destruction of vice by the triumph of virtue ib. 

REASON is the author of its own laws 381 

Christians have split into Sects to destroy Christianity .... ib. 

Divine Revelation completely defined ib. 

Geometry is a pure mental Science 382 

A mathematical line is not evident to SENSE ib, 

REASON originates Syllogisms 383 

SENSE produces Sensations ib. 

The Religion of Jesus Christ is a divine Revelation 384 

The Divinity of Christ proved to conviction ib. 

Morality prior to Christ was imperfect 385 

The precepts of Jesus are convincing to the illiterate ib. 

Christ has awakened us from the dead, and called us to everlasting life . . ib. 

God is everlasting love ib. 

Christ says : — Love one another as I have loved you 386 

God gave his only begotten Son to save the world ib. 



14 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

God's Commandments revealed by Jesus and confirmed by REASON . 387 

Christ taught by parables — not by Books ib. 

Science of Religion is susceptible of absolute proof ib. 

Science of Religion is the Science of Spirit 388 

PRACTICAL REASON originates Religion ib. 

Man is to obtain perfect bliss in the world to come 389 

The cultivation of Intellect must extinguish All Sects ib. 

ONE only true Religion — the Religion of Christ ib. 

SCIENCE OF MIND dispels all Religious doubts ib. 

The demands of the Infidel merit complete answers ib. 

Divarication satisfies every scruple of the Infidel 390 

Infidels are forced to acknowledge Christianity ib. 

Bigots take the letter for the spirit of the Holy Book 391 

No religious action can be performed on earth ib. 

Religion consists wholly in the motive ib. 

Sacred Science is founded on Axioms, Definitions, and Principles . ... 392 

Man the master of his own virtue ib. 

In the Sacred Science there is no belief — every thing is proved . . . . 393 

Catechisms, Beliefs, and Formularies, only tax the memory .... ib. 

Axioms, Definitions, and Principles, exercise the judgment . . . . ib. 

Virtue and Vice defined ib. 

Actions affect SENSE; Motives arise from REASON ib. 

Man dare not presume to judge his fellow-man ....... 394 

REASON commands us to effect our own Perfection and the Happiness of 

others ib. 

All Religions lead to Morality . . . ib. 

Bigotry and Infidelity totally annihilated 395 

Primitive Christianity established for ever ib. 

Christianity is Rationality ib. 

St. Paul expounds the DOCTRINE of Christ ib. 

REASON crucifies the affections of SENSE 396 

Science of Mind establishes the Gospel 397 

Annul REASON and the Moral Law is extinct ib. 

Annul SENSE and the sinful lusts are extinct 398 

Philosophy of Mind establishes the truth of the Bible ib. 

Christ's precepts are absolutely secured by the Science of Mind . . . ib. 

Religion ONE and universal all over the world 399 

ONE eternal bond of union on all points of Religion ib. 

Science of Mind is called TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY 400 

Pure principles of REASON constitute the WORD OF GOD . . ib. 
Related facts to SENSE constitute the WORD OF MAN . . .401 

Herod the tetrarch put John the Baptist in prison ib. 

The daughter of Herodias asks for John Baptist's head 402. 

The Holy Book is disfigured by inhuman recitals ib. 

Divarication proves the Divinity of Christ 403 

Divarication proves the Rationality of the Athanasian Creed . . . . ib. 

Divarication proves the truth of the Holy Trinity ib. 

Critics say the Work is intended to deceive ib. 

Critics doubt the honesty of the Author's intentions ib. 

Critics say the work destroys Christianity ib. 

Critics say this is a blasphemous book ib. 

To these charges the Author stands acquitted in his own Conscience . . . ib. 

RATIONALITY IS CHRISTIANITY 404 

Critics sometimes employed as Book Makers ib. 



CONTENTS. 15 

PAGE 

The Author solicits an interview with the doubter 404 

How did Humanity use the Son of God ! . . ib. 

Christ breaks the laws of Moses 405 

Pontius Pilate compassionated Jesus Christ ib. 

The Messiah deemed a false prophet ib. 

HISTORY affords instances of monstrous atrocities . ... 406 

DOCTRINE points out the road to virtue ib. 

WORD OF GOD is spiritual — arises from REASON . . .\. . . ib. 

WORD OF MAN is material — produced by SENSE . / . ib. 

HISTORY must be a faithful record of facts or it is a Fiction . . . ib. 

DOCTRINE is a pure development of precepts, and leads to Virtue . . 407 

A Grand Inquisitor proceeds against one hundred thousand heretics . . . ib. 

Six thousand heretics condemned to the flames ib. 

Tormenting the flesh does not enforce Christianity . . . . . . ib. 

God was the first Grand Inquisitor 408 

Adam and Eve were the first heretics ib. 

Jesus Christ was an Inquisitor ib. 

DIVINE REVELATION grounded in REASON ib. 

Jesus Christ crucified for speaking the truth 409 

Christ sympathizes with Mary on the death of Lazarus ib. 

" Jesus wept " ib. 

Jesus betrayed by one of his disciples with a kiss 410 

Christ says to his Father — " Not my will, but thine, be done" . . . . ib. 

The Lord's Prayer and the Crucifixion ib. 

Christian Dispensation proved from internal evidence 411 

All efforts to establish the DOCTRINE of Christ from the Book itself 

abortive ib. 

HISTORY is the ground of endless dispute 412 

DOCTRINE is the ground of absolute unanimity , ib. 

The date of the birth of Christ is uncertain 413 

Chronologists are at variance on this fact of HISTORY ib. 

Miracles are addressed to SENSE ib. 

Our Saviour's transfiguration ib. 

Miracles confirm the laws of Nature 414 

Miracles fill up TIME and occupy SPACE ib. 

The Bible confirms the laws of Nature . 415 

God does not make laws to break them ib. 

All the facts of HISTORY can never make a principle ib. 

DOCTRINE neither occupies TIME nor SPACE ib. 

God's laws are immutable 416 

Christ's DOCTRINE consists of precepts of pure Morality . . . . ib. 

The purity of Christ's precepts proves their divinity 417 

Christ's precepts are implanted in our Rational Nature ib. 

Infinitude alone can comprehend the Infinite ib. 

Humanity can only comprehend the Finite . . . ,. ... . 418 

Christ walking on the water explained ib. 

God is within us, and constitutes our Moral Nature 419 

The temptation in the Wilderness explained ib. 

The darkness of the Crucifixion explained ib. 

Christ an example of strictly upright conduct ib. 

Rending the vail of the Temple explained 420 

Profane HISTORY sometimes indulges in Metaphor ib. 

HISTORY cannot be dispensed with ib. 

Mathematical diagrams are symbols of pure figures 421 



16 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Actions good, bad, indifferent, are symbols of motives 421 

Man cannot decide from the action upon the motive . . . • • . ib. 

Manlius Torquatus killed his own son 422 

Morality is the DOCTRINE of motives ■ ib. 

Every action ought to be submitted to the test of REASON .... H. 

Man the judge of his own actions '"&• 

Man ought to discharge his duty quite disinterestedly 423 

The laws of REASON constitute Religion ib. 

To adore the "Book" is Idolatry *"&• " 

Thoughts are purely spiritual, and exist in Mind 424 

Religion is purely spiritual ib. 

Mere ceremonials must not be taken for Religion ib. 

Archelaus reigned in Judea before the birth of Christ 425 

HISTORY will employ the learned for ever ib. 

DOCTRINE will produce immediate Conviction * • • • . . ib. 

Triumph of Principle over Fact 426 

The " Old Testament " is strictly historical, not tJieological ib. 

The Patriarchs and their descendants are depositories of the Unity of the 

Godhead , »"&• 

The "New Testament" contains the ark of the New Covenant, a perfect code 

of moral laws 427 

Christ is a practical example of fulfilling the Moral Law ib. 

Christ is the author of the HOLY TRINITY . . . .' . . . ib. 

The apparent mystery of the Trinity in Unity explained . . . • • 428 

Oneness is an impossible thought for man ib- 

Every material object involves the Triune Principle ib. 

Every mathematical object involves the Triune Principle 429 

Every spiritual object involves the Triune Principle 430 

The mystical number — three in one — accounted for 431 

All human nature consists of matter, and is corruptible ib. 

All divine nature consists of spirit, and is holy ib. 

The actions of man are performed in TIME, and are not pure .... 432 

The motives of man are conceived in ETERNITY, and are pure . . . ib. 

A conceptive circle is purer than a material circle ib. 

INTUITIONS occupy both TIME and SPACE 433 

CONCEPTIONS occupy TIME only ib. 

IDEAS reside wholly in ETERNITY ... . . . ib. 

The "Supreme Being" is entirely free from TIME and SPACE . . . ib. 

The " Divine Essence" is absolutely incorruptible ib. 

The finite cannot comprehend the infinite 434 

Cause, Effect, Connexion, constitute One notion ib. 

Father, Son, Relation, constitute One notion ib. 

Personification of the three Holy Powers ib. 

The Council of Nice held A. D. 325 435 

The Dogma of Arius outvoted ib. 

Christ's DOCTRINE for ever fixed in REASON . .... ib. 

Athanasian Creed the finest reasoning ever offered to man . . . • 436 

Where mystery begins virtue and Religion end 437 

Essence of the Athanasian Creed explained in modern language . . . ib. 

Body, Soul, Connexion, constitute man ib. 

Soul separated from body is an Angel ib. 

Athanasian Creed is the soundest part of the Liturgy 438 

Divarication separates DOCTRINE from HISTORY . . . ib. 

Christ's DOCTRINE expounded in modern language ib. 



CONTENTS. 17 

PAGE 

REASON assures us of a future state 439 

The discovery of truth is of the highest importance . . . . ... 440 

When the DOCTRINE does not convince it must be transferred to the page 

of HISTORY ib. 

The Roman Catholics interdicted reading the Bible ib. 

Facts constitute no part of Religion 441 

Two true opinions of the Bible cannot exist ib. 

There shall be but ONE opinion of the "SACRED BOOK" ib. 

Mathematical truths do not admit of two opinions 442 

Principles cannot be enforced by the sword ib. 

Who shall exhaust the treasures of the Bible ? ib. 

Second Edition of Divarication shall be more worthy the dignity of the 

Subject . 443 

ARGUMENT FOR DIVARICATING THE SCRIPTURE . 445 

Conviction and Belief explained 446 

DOCTRINE— WORD OF GOD = REASON 44? 

HISTORY — WORD OF MAN = SENSE ib. 

Divarication of the Gospel of St. Matthew ib. 

Divarication of the Gospel of St. Mark 472 

Divarication of the Gospel of St. Luke 493 

Divarication of the Gospel of St. John . . 521 

Works relating to the principle of Divarication ....... 553 



PREFACE 



SECOND EDITION, 



<®tt fyz Ut&feum of tfje Hotw &cxi#tuvt$. 

Until the 'principle which authorises the division of 
the Scriptures into Doctrine and History is fully com- 
prehended, this work cannot be understood, much less 
finally adopted. A scientific display of this principle, 
exhibited in the Argument for the Divarication at 
the end of the Introduction, furnishes a self-evident 
justification of the present attempt, and proves the 
division of the "Divine Revelation " to be not only 
rational, but one without which the Word of God can- 
not enter in all its purity into the heart, and operate 
upon our conduct. It will prove to be such a division 
as will raise the precepts of Christ to a state of con- 

B 



20 PREFACE. 

viction, far surpassing the utmost evidence afforded by 
the pure sciences, and satisfy the mind both of their 
unerring truth and of their divine descent. 

An attentive perusal of the Arg ument above alluded 
to will at once remove all difficulty, and shew that a 
" Divine Revelation " cannot be made to the Senses, 
but only to the Reason of man. The proud distinction 
of man, Reason, which has by some been lauded as the 
sole arbitress of the world, and the only sure guide of 
our actions, and by others condemned as the weakest 
and vainest of all powers, and the most certain to mis- 
guide us in our aspirations after that kingdom prepared 
for us from the foundation of the world, will be found, 
when kept within due limits and employed solely in its 
practical use, to be the faculty that generates both 
religious ideas and the desire to act up to the divine 
precepts of the Gospel. 

The will of God revealed to his creatures through the 
medium of Jesus Christ is, therefore, addressed to the 
Reason of Man, with this happy result, that while this 
faculty remains in its purity no human being can refuse 
its testimony, which is confirmed and corroborated by 
the tests given by our heavenly Father to his creatures, 
Conscience and Conviction. Had this revelation 



PREFACE. 21 

been addressed to the Senses, it could have affected 
only the contemporaries of Christ. Laws, however, 
are not facts ; the latter only address the Senses, but 
laws never can. Who ever saw his own Reason, much 
less the laivs which emanate from this spiritual faculty ! 
Whatever Confucius, Socrates, or others, may have 
advanced on the subject of virtue and the moral laws, 
Jesus Christ alone is the instrument employed by Divine 
Providence for the complete development and establish- 
ment of a Doctrine so consonant with Reason, that the 
more it is investigated and compared with that pre- 
eminent faculty of man, the more exalted and sublime 
will it be found. 

Fatal, indeed, is the mistake of mixing up historical 
relations with pure doctrine. They differ essentially in 
their nature ; neither can they be substituted for each 
other. Christ's doctrines are pure precepts and moral 
principles, which can be contemplated by Reason alone, 
and need only be clearly expounded to be indelibly 
fixed in the heart, and to become guides for our conduct 
even to salvation. Historical Facts, on the contrary, 
must have addressed the senses of the narrator, but 
can never constitute a universal principle , or command 
universal assent; as well might we hope to advance 

b2 



22 PREFACE. 

the truth of the forty- seventh proposition of the first 
book of Euclid, by adding the well known history of 
its discovery. When Pythagoras, in the energy of 
enthusiasm at the happy effort, commanded a splendid 
sacrifice, he decreed a hecatomb, crying, Evprjxu! eugjjxa/ 
Euclid has not embellished his " Elements " with this 
narration, nor would it have made truth more true ! 
It is a universally acknowledged position that every 
event must have a cause ; but it is equally certain that 
all the facts in the world will neither make a mathe- 
matical figure nor constitute a pure moral principle. 
Never will I cease to employ my pen on this subject, 
whether I am seconded or not in my efforts, to establish 
a principle of such vital importance for the interest of 
Religion ; and finally I hope, like the great Hindoo 
philosopher, Rammohun Roy, to be able to eradicate the 
baneful prejudice of confounding history with principle, 
a prejudice more mischievous in its consequences than 
that of the immolation of the Indian widows, because 
it entails an error that subjects the " Scriptures " to 
perpetual cavil and misunderstanding, thus defeating 
the object which our " Saviour " had in view — perfect 
unanimity in his only true Church. This prejudice 
must and shall be conquered, or the " Christian 



PREFACE. 23 

Religion" will not be what its founder intended — the 
" Universal Religion of Man" — because it is the 
Religion of Reason. 

This exposition of the " Sacred Book " cannot be 
considered as destroying one doctrine, without giving 
a more sublime substitute — nay, the very substance 
instead of the shadow ; for, by eradicating error, pure 
truth finds no obstacle to its adoption in the mind. 
The propriety and principle of this treatment of the 
" Scriptures " is fully displayed in the Introduction; 
but as it has not, from its novelty, made that impression 
on the religious public which its importance demands, 
and as this principle entirely secures the Scriptures 
from the mutilation so much dreaded and so justly 
deprecated, it is hoped that a further illustration of 
the principle will be greeted with that warmth which 
the vital importance of the subject demands, when we 
reflect that unanimity and concord on all religious 
points must be the result. 

An obscure feeling has long pervaded the mind, that 
there are certain precepts in the "Holy Book" which 
command universal assent ; but we have never beheld 
till now a decided touchstone, an unerring principle laid 
down, by which every individual may decide for himself, 



24 PREFACE. 

on perusing the " Sacred Volume/' whether the text 
under consideration is wholly or partially a precept, a 
rule, a maxim of conduct, to guide us in our proba- 
tionary state ; or, whether the point under discussion is 
an historical narration of events that has been employed 
expressly to introduce and enforce this rule of conduct. 
When we have duly considered and thoroughly under- 
stand the distinction between facts and principles, 
which is pointed out in this test, and have referred each 
to its proper head of Doctrine or Htstory, all differ- 
ence of opinion must for ever cease. We may illustrate 
this position by a familiar instance — " Jesus went 
up into a mountain." Now, the act of ascending a 
mountain contains no rule of conduct, no precept ; but 
it is a most important fact, on account of the sublime 
doctrine that he taught his disciples and the multitude 
who were with them. The fact of ascending the moun- 
tain occurred at one point of time, and must have affected 
the senses of those who accompanied him to that im- 
portant place where our Saviour chose to enlighten the 
multitude with precepts whose influence is so universal, 
that, as principles of conduct, they being once divulged, 
must last through all time, and exist in absolute purity 
in eternity. It really seems in this case to be totally 



PREFACE. 25 

impossible to confound two things so essentially dif- 
ferent in their nature. Facts occur at a certain point of 
time, and can never recur under the same circumstances; 
the evidence of their existence is a certain affection of 
Sense, admitted when we say— I see, feel, hear, &c. 
some certain thing, as "Jesus walking up a mountain." 
Principles, on the other hand, can neither be seen nor 
felt ; and, though they must be first awakened in the 
mind through the channel of Sense, yet, when once 
comprehended by Reason, where they were originally 
lying dormant, their efficacy is so great that ever after 
they constitute a definitive law to guide our conduct 
through life : " Do unto others as you would they 
should do unto you." 

The essential and eternal distinction between facts 
and principles must now be abundantly evident. The 
former are certain events produced by outward circum- 
stances, while the latter are indigenous laws of Reason, 
constituents of the mind, and inward guides of conduct. 
One would think it quite impossible to confound two 
such opposite things as facts and principles ; and yet it 
is to no other circumstance that disputes and difference 
of opinion in religious matters can be attributed. Of 
facts, no two individuals can be precisely in the same 



26 PREFACE. 

situation as beholders of what they are viewing, neither 
can each say what impression it produces on the senses 
of the other ; here, therefore, argument would be mis- 
placed. Of principle, nothing can be more certain than 
that here argument cannot hold at all ; for it would be 
a contradiction in terms to call that a principle which 
is susceptible of even the slightest difference of opinion. 
Principles are universal notions, lying in our Reason, 
which, when once expounded, last for ever ; while no 
fact can ever recur, as the point of time has for ever 
evanesced. Hence, facts have but a limited duration, 
because they are in Time, which is constant change ; 
while Principles, which are free from the laws of time, 
are universally and permanently the same, because they 
are in Eternity. Now, we may perceive the value, 
the importance, the vital essence, of those moral 
maxims so exquisitely and beautifully expounded in the 
"New Testament" by our Saviour. 

Having shown that principles require no proof, be- 
cause they are self-evident positions, it is clear that on 
this point we must all agree ; for there is no disputing 
with a man who denies a principle. Therefore, on the 
side of Doctrine difference of opinion cannot exist. 
On this side, when the doctrines in the "Scriptures" 



PREFACE. 27 

are once separated from the narrative which is essential 
to introduce these maxims for the regulation of our 
conduct, and which constitutes the History of the 
book, it is quite impossible to differ. This is the death- 
blow to sectarianism. For, when we reflect on that 
which founds a sect, it is quite apparent that it must be 
based on some disputable point. But on the side of 
doctrine there can be nothing but unanimity; therefore, 
the point of difference must be on the side of history. 
Here, and here alone, can difference of opinion exist. 
Nay, how can unanimity be produced from materials 
which have nothing in common, which cannot even 
be viewed by two individuals at the same time and in 
the same "place ! Neither dare we pronounce on the 
intensity of interest they produce on any single person, 
much less hope to draw universal results from outward 
circumstances, that shall serve as inward guides unto 
our eternal salvation. Vain, indeed, must be the at- 
tempt to obtain unanimity horn facts, which are realities 
that affect the senses. If a perfect agreement of opinion 
is not to be obtained in two individuals who are both 
impressed by the same outward object at the very same 
instant, why should we look for a coincidence of opinion 
when the beholders of these facts have transmitted 

b5 



28 PREFACE. 

their view of the subject to others, who have recorded 
those events which constitute the historical part of the 
book ? The occurrences of the present moment, sur- 
rounded as we are with the facilities of communication, 
never accord with the nicety requisite to constitute 
a precept. Why, then, should we suppose that the 
primitive history of a persecuted sect should have been 
preserved with a precision that is not to be obtained 
with all the enlightenment of the present day ? Doubt 
is the most painful state in which the mind of man can 
remain : but to seek to resolve doubts from materials 
that are not capable of dissipating these painful senti- 
ments is really to court the mischief when the remedy 
is in our power. Look for unanimity only where it is 
sure to be obtained, and cheering certainty takes the 
place of desponding doubt. There seems occasionally 
to be something confounding and entangling in the 
very circumstances in which we are placed ; but we 
surely should not fly for relief to more difficulties, 
while we possess a clear and decided plan for 
our extrication, in the all-consoling and universally- 
soothing balm afforded by the sublime precepts with 
which the Doctrine of our " Saviour " every where 
abounds. Here is to be found a consolation for all our 



PREFACE. 29 

earthly troubles ; and, indeed, under the most afflicting 
circumstances, this bright gem lures us to realms of 
bliss that await the good ! Why, then, should we seek 
in uncertainty and expect to find unanimity? How 
far preferable to employ the time that is wasted in 
unprofitable dispute, in the propagation of those prin- 
ciples that have been revealed to our reason in a god- 
like manner, only to produce unanimity among men ! 
How eagerly the infant mind will imbibe the refreshing 
draught prepared by the Saviour of man will be seen by 
offering the pure beverage of divine precepts for its 
nourishment, instead of entangling and perplexing it 
with interminable doubt. Unanimity and agreement 
are therefore only to be obtained from Doctrine, while 
discord and disagreement must be the result of the most 
profound and diligent search that can possibly be made 
by the ingenuity of man in his patient investigation 
into History. 

From the discordance of history, then, arise the 
numerous sects which have disgraced the annals of 
the Church of Christ from the earliest period of its 
establishment. It is, indeed, high time that a final 
termination were put to this factious division of the only 
true Church, whose character is catholic or universal 



SO PREFACE. 

harmony and divine truth. And this most happy and 
desirable end will be instantly effected, the moment 
rational beings are content to adopt the universal creed, 
that is, the catholic faith that the divine and com- 
manding laws taught in their simple and most compre- 
hensive form by our "Saviour" in the New Testament 
are not of earth, earthy, but strict revelations of the 
Divine Author of nature. What can be more reasonable 
than to follow a doctrine, the divine descent of which, 
or its commanding influence on our conduct here and 
our eternal welfare hereafter, no human being dare 
doubt ? That this is the object of the divine doctrine 
is too often reiterated by its divine founder ever to be 
questioned by the most sceptical mind, or disputed by 
the most rancorous sectarian. What possible benefit 
can be derived from the admixture of historical records, 
which can only concern events on earth, but never can 
verify the purity of a doctrine, which is only to be con- 
firmed by those inward tests, Reason and Conscience? 
Nay, could all the facts or events which constitute the 
historical portion of the " Sacred Volume " be evinced 
to demonstration, their total aggregate would never 
make one single precept, however indispensable these 
facts may be to the inculcation of the divine doctrine. 



PREFACE. 31 

Neither the casting out devils, healing the sick, nor 
raising the dead, affords a single rule of moral conduct ; 
and, if any moral is to be extracted from these facts, 
it is the moral which lasts, while the fact itself has 
vanished for ever. 

If sectarians were dispassionately to reflect on the 
importance of this division — not mutilation — of the 
" Holy Book," honesty, sincerity, and internal con- 
viction, would be the wonder-workers that would 
totally eradicate sectarianism, and leave, in all its 
purity, the doctrine so frequently and so eloquently 
enforced in the sacred pages. This is, indeed, the 
religion of Christ, the religion of love, harmony, and 
charity, towards our fellow-creatures, and which in- 
culcates forgiveness of our enemies. This is Christi- 
anity in its primitive purity; and in this sublime sense 
u religion exists wholly in the heart" How, then, can it 
show itself on earth ? " The kingdom of God is within 
you, and cannot he perceived by any outward sign" 
Moral duties appertain to rational creatures alone, and 
are evidenced by a reference of the motive that induced 
the action to the Moral Law, which is a constituent 
part of the Reason of man. This is a fundamental posi- 
tion, which must be admitted by all religious sects. 



32 PREFACE, 

Having discovered a point of anion for all rational 
beings, nothing can be more easy than to extend this 
happy harmony to its utmost limits. Union of senti- 
ment generates uniformity of conduct. This once 
established, the pleasing task of amalgamating sects 
will proceed with certainty and rapidity, and be accom- 
panied with the consoling reflection that no return of 
these blemishes, in so divine a system, is likely to 
interrupt the well-grounded unanimity which it has 
effected. Let us suppose the happy work in operation, 
and we shall perceive sectarians retracing their steps 
till they arrive at this first principle, the point of union, 
about which there cannot be two opinions. This once 
effected, a little patient investigation will soon discover 
the point of departure, and at the same time detect the 
extraneous matter that has caused the difference. Here 
we are sure to find that some narration, some historical 
record, has inadvertently been admitted to constitute 
that which was erroneously considered pure doctrine ; 
some fact substituted for principle. For, on principle 
we cannot differ, and it must be a rare case, indeed, to 
perceive a fact about which we do entirely agree. For 
facts are evanescent events, that last but a limited time; 
while principles are immutable and permanent, that 



PREFACE. 33 

must remain for ever, even in eternity. Their very 
elements, therefore, are of a discordant nature, and can 
never coalesce. This heterogeneous mixture must then 
necessarily generate perpetual disunion. The natural 
result of this sincere and honest self-examination will 
be productive of more genuine Christianity than the 
most prolonged and vigorous argument that can be set 
up in defence of any favourite dogma ; and the ultimate 
termination of the glorious work will produce the final 
destruction of sects, by the detection of their errors, 
and the permanent harmony of the disputants, who will 
thenceforward be for ever united in a firm bond of holy 
union. Then, indeed, may Religion be dignified with 
the touching appellation of the "Sacred Science." 
May this period soon arrive ! 

The essential and eternal distinction that exists 
between facts and principles, even in their very consti- 
tuent elements, being now fully demonstrated, there 
will be no difficulty in establishing a rule for the 
adjustment of every religious dispute. This rule, from 
its absolute universality, may more properly be deno- 
minated a "Canon," or standard of evidence — not, 
indeed, a canon enacted by any council or earthly power, 
and enforced by earthly authority, but a canon, as a 



34 PREFACE. 

divine gift, seated in the universal Reason of man. 
Who can doubt the uniformity of the operation of a 
'principle which forms a constituent part of that pre- 
eminent Faculty of man — Reason ? Now, as Reason 
is a self- active faculty, it actually originates its own 
laws, that is to say, they arise out of itself, uninfluenced 
by external objects ; hence all its decisions must be 
both consistent and uniform. For Reason ceases to be 
Reason when it contradicts itself, and then we are left 
without a guide. This " Canon " will carry with it all 
the truth, correctness, and conviction, that the mind 
obtains from contemplating the law of gravitation, or 
any truth of the pure sciences which admits of no dispute 
whatever, and, being a constituent part of the human 
mind, must necessarily last as long as mind exists. 

This ci Canon," or general rule for the solution 
of all cases, is displayed in the Argument for the 
Divarication, in two parallel columns, under the 
heads Thesis and Antithesis, and, departing from the 
popular form, we should say scientifically ; that what- 
ever is ranked under the Thesis must be, a priori, pure 
in its nature, unmixed with any ingredients that are 
derived from experience ; that is to say, necessary, per- 
manent, spiritual, immaterial, simple, perfect, infinite, 



PREFACE. 35 

and eternal : in shorty principles which, when embodied 
into a system, constitute Doctrine. But, on such 
sublime ideas as these, when once accurately denned 
and familiarly expounded, can there be two opinions ? 

How differently circumstanced are the affections of 
Sense ! Who would venture to pronounce definitively 
on the intensity of the sensation produced by an out- 
ward object on another person, or even to determine 
what will be the next Sensation that will impress itself 
on him ? Here every thing that is ranked under the 
Antithesis must be, a posteriori, impure in its very 
nature, being constructed of the very matter of experi- 
ence, consequently contingent, mutable, material, com- 
posed, imperfect, finite, and evanescent. This is the 
true character of experience ; and, when these multi- 
farious events are felt, they constitute facts, but, when 
related and recorded, they compose what is denomi- 
nated History. Here no ingenuity of man can procure 
uniformity of opinion, much less demonstration, for the 
very materials on which these records are transmitted 
partake of the nature of the facts themselves, and are 
perishable : to look for uniformity here would be vain. 
Reason manifests itself by the act of drawing 
conclusions, while Sense, being a passive faculty, is 



36 PREFACE. 

affected by external objects, which affections are termed 
sensations. Now, the conclusions produced by the 
activity of Reason have a double reference. They refer 
either to facts or to principles. 

Thus it is evident that we are endowed with the 
sublime faculty, Reason, for two very opposite pur- 
poses : in the first place, to attend to our temporal 
welfare on earth, to regulate and arrange the objects of 
nature so as to produce the greatest comfort and har- 
mony in our mortal state, and without this faculty we 
should not be superior to the brutes who are guided by 
unerring instinct ; here, then, this gift is indispensable, 
if we are to be considered rational animals. While 
Reason is content to keep within the limits assigned 
to it by its Maker, in the speculations in which it 
engages for mundane affairs, it merits all the praise 
that can be bestowed on so exalted a faculty ; not so 
when that faculty oversteps the bounds of decency, and 
presumes, with its feeble insight, to inveigh against 
the arrangements of Providence, to censure what it 
cannot understand, because it cannot fathom the designs 
of infinite wisdom : — this may explain the paradox 
why Reason is susceptible both of praise and blame. 
Reason, when thus occupied, is evidently engaged with 



PREFACE. 37 

the objects by which we are surrounded, in speculating 
on what will form the best combinations for certain 
earthly views of happiness : and here it is clear that its 
conclusions refer only to facts; and, as it cannot foresee 
what is next to happen, it is compelled to meditate and 
speculate how to form the best arrangements; and this 
faculty, when thus employed, is very properly termed 
Speculative Reason. 

On the other hand, when the conclusions of Reason 
refer directly to principles, the object of this faculty 
cannot be mistaken. That Principles, being mental or 
spiritual, that is, heavenly things, are the ground of our 
never-ceasing aspirations to become partakers of the 
realms of never-ending bliss, so divinely pictured by 
our Redeemer, is rendered manifest, to the fullest con- 
viction of every person who uses that divine gift, 
Reason, in the most limited degree. Thus, then, we 
are endowed with Reason also, for that sublime and 
ultimate end of our existence, our eternal welfare. 
But this faculty, in contradistinction to the former, 
must be termed Practical Reason, or a power which 
creates laws and lays down rules for a virtuous and 
happy life here on earth, as good earnest for the purity 
of the motives which induce this conduct, and carry 



38 PREFACE. 

our aspirations far beyond the confines of sublunary 
things^ and induce us to approximate the purity and 
spirituality of the divine essence of the great Creator of 
Reason itself. This faculty is synonymous with Free 
Will : for it is determined to action by principles or 
precepts, which are acknowledged to be spiritual things, 
and wholly independent of the necessity of nature ; for 
they originate from this practical faculty. This spiritual 
freedom is taught by our " Saviour" when he says — - 
u The Kingdom of heaven is ivitliin you." So that the 
spring of all moral actions is reverence for the moral 
law, implanted by our Maker in our hearts, and re- 
vealed to us by the divine Saviour of man. 

When Practical Reason digests, arranges, and 
combines, the principles which it originates into a con- 
solidated mass of spiritual essences, it generates a 
i( Science of Morals." This science refers immediately 
to virtue, which is wholly inconceivable without an 
Omniscient and Omnipotent Being — God — who dis- 
penses rewards and punishments in due proportion to 
the deserts of his creatures. When the laws of conduct, 
or the precepts expounded in "Holy Writ/' are sifted 
from every extraneous ingredient, they constitute a 
pure " Science of Morals" which, considered in the 



PREFACE. 39 

light of a divine revelation, become God's command- 
ments. The sincere and honest obedience to Divine 
Laws constitutes Religion, or the submission of the 
Will of Man to the Will of God. Here, Practical 
Reason does not overstep its limits, by constantly 
striving to gain that Kingdom prepared for us before all 
worlds, but merits all the praise that has ever been 
bestowed on so divine a faculty ; nay, how must every 
human attempt fall short of doing adequate justice to a 
gift, which displays to mortal eyes the ineffable good- 
ness and infinite wisdom of the great Author of Reason ! 
Practical Reason thus confirms the Revelation of 
our Saviour, and secures it from cavil, which is indeed 
all that subsequent enlightenment has been able to effect. 
But, in doing this upon principle, it has also accom- 
plished the glorious task of erecting a sacred science, 
the Science of Religion, which, by producing perfect 
unanimity among men, for ever shuts out even the 
possibility of ever again disputing on the subject of 
Religion, and thus fulfilling the sacred prophecy — 
u that the Gospel shall be preached to all the nations 
of the earth." 

What can surpass the sublime view thus opened to 
us of our ultimate destination, proving that at the 



40 PREFACE. 

present instant of our existence our soul is an inhabitant 
of that abode of infinite and eternal bliss, revealed to us 
in the " Word of God ;" though we must pass the con- 
fines of the grave before that which our Reason assures 
us to conviction to be the design of our Creator is 
accomplished ! Thus, then, we are endowed with 
Reason, for the double purpose of attending to the 
interests of our joint nature, that is, of Soul and Body, 
without detriment to either ; and for this purpose that 
divine faculty is employed in two departments : 

PRACTICAL REASON SPECULATIVE REAJ 

secures regards 

our eternal welfare. our temporal welfare. 



Hence arise two distinct desires, the one ever aiming 
at the greatest sum of physical enjoyment, the other 
aspiring to absolute goodness. This exposition of 
our rational faculty fully accounts for the two indis- 
pensable desires of our nature, the one for happiness, 
the other for virtue. The former demands the satis- 
faction of all our inclinations ; the latter, the fulfilment 
of all our moral duties. So that man is actually in 
constant antagonism with himself; and the only way 
to obtain supreme and perfect happiness is by re- 



PREFACE. 



41 



stricting the inclinations to the sublime laws of morality, 
and thus establishing the supremacy of Reason. 

The Argument for the Divarication fully con- 
firms this display of human nature, by shewing the 
different value of the two operations of Reason, as 
exemplified in the following table: 



MAN 




SOUL. 

I. DOCTRINE. 

Thesis. 

REASON. 

Heaven. 

Laws of the Soul, 

VIRTUE. 



BODY. 

II. HISTORY. 

Antithesis. 

SENSE. 

Earth. 

Laws of the Body, 
INCLINATION. 



regards concerns 

Things of a Spiritual nature, which Things of a Material nature, which 

manifest themselves by Syllogisms of manifest themselves to the SENSES by 

REASON, and never can address the actual contact; and the relation of these 

SENSES ; but are firmly fixed in the mind sensations induces 
by 



CONVICTION. 



BELIEF, 



Thus : all the radii of a circle are equal ; Thus : you may believe that I wrote 

yet neither the circle nor the radii can these observations upon a table, a tub, or 

address the SENSES, but their symbol any other extended surface; but I felt 

can. the materials I employed. 

It is most certain that, while we are performing the 
voyage of probation here below, in order to determine 
our claim to higher regions, the first thing of which 
we are conscious is the impressions received by our 



42 PREFACE. 

senses from external objects, and these are called sen- 
sations. Thus we are placed in a state that calls forth 
all our energies, for every sensation is accompanied by 
a feeling either of desire, aversion, or indifference. 
So that, from the moment of our birth, we are plunged 
into the most perplexing difficulties and trying situa- 
tions, and occupied, as we advance in years — if we have 
fortitude enough — in avoiding seductive allurements, 
that would draw us from our duty, or obviating appal- 
ling circumstances, that threaten our happiness. In 
order, therefore, to obtain the fulfilment of an essential 
desire of our nature, the gratification of our inclinations, 
Speculative Reason is called into play. But as, 
according to our exposition, the things of Sense are 
facts, and range themselves under the Antithesis, their 
ultimate object is to accomplish our happiness. Yet, 
not being the authors of the external world, we find 
it impossible ever to attain this aim to our entire 
satisfaction — here end the operations of Speculative 
Reason. 

Dissatisfied at the never-ceasing attempts to accom- 
plish an unattainable end, though an instinctive part of 
our nature — the natural desire for happiness — new 
powers are called into activity, still further to pursue 



PREFACE. 43 

this restless desire in man. At length, the reflection 
raised by Practical Reason awakens man to a know- 
ledge of his ultimate destination, by convincing him that 
happiness alone is not the only end for which he is 
created ; but that there is something even more valu- 
able than life itself, to which all our endeavours and 
aspirations aim ; and that the only way to accomplish 
this second instinctive desire of our nature — virtue — 
is the fulfilment of all our moral duties. Virtue is the 
constant approximation towards goodness, that is, the 
harmony of the motive with the moral law seated in 
Practical Reason. Thus,ViRTUE is the moral strength 
of man in fulfilling his duty and overcoming every 
temptation to vice. But, as laws or principles are 
spiritual things, it is clear that this whole procedure 
regards that part of us — the soul — which already exists 
in Eternity, and is totally free from the operations of 
the things occupying Time. So that at the present 
moment of our existence we are actually members of 
the Moral World, where he only will allow himself to 
participate of Happiness who has rendered himself 
worthy of it ; but, as all this arises from precepts or 
conclusions of Practical Reason, our entire moral 
conduct, and all that is connected with it, ranks under 



44 



PREFACE. 



the Thesis. Thus, man obtains the dominion over 
himself, by subjecting all his inclinations to the Moral 
Laiv, and this for the sake of duty, whereby he proves 
himself to be the scope of creation. To pursue our 
antithesis, we should say — 



r 

SOUL 
is in 

HEAVEN. 

Its laws arise 

from 

PRACTICAL REASON : 

and regard 



MAN. 

his 



BODY 
is on 

EARTH. 

Its laws arise 

from 

SPECULATIVE REASON, 

and concern 



ETERNITY. 



TIME. 



The abode of Infinite and Spiritual 
Existences, God, the Soul, Angels : and 
the depository of every permanent and 
immutable principle — the Mental Ele- 
ments and pure Sciences, which are now 
and ever will be. 



The residence of Finite and Material 
Existences, Animals, Vegetables, and Mi- 
nerals : and the container of all the mu- 
tations that take place on Earth, where 
every thing has a beginning, middle, and 
end; and depends for its existence on a 
determinate cause — the oak and the acorn. 



Let it not be supposed that this rational division of 
the " Bible" is in any way to be confounded with the 
recent attempts made to mutilate the (i Scriptures;" on 
the contrary, it will prove to be the proper handmaid 
to sift out their sjriritual essence, without requiriug 
them to bend to its decisions, which at once manifests 



PREFACE. 45 

the infinite wisdom of their divine Author — perfection 
— by displaying in the broad daylight of truth the 
perfect harmony that subsists between Reason and 
Revelation. Thus is the " Christian Religion" esta- 
blished for all rational beings, upon principles that will 
melt all sects and all Religions into one firm bond of in- 
dissoluble and permanent union, which will gain strength 
in the proportion that the internal evidence of Doctrine 
exceeds the external evidence of History, till at last, 
by its wide-extended influence and universal adoption, 
it will realize the Kingdom of God upon Earth ! 

So deeply are we impressed with the necessity of 
enforcing this division of the " Scriptures," with a 
view of commanding universal assent to the sublime 
truths which they unfold, that we have attempted to 
display the two natures of man and their respective 
laws in a Diagram, which is intended symbolically to 
represent the possibility of the union of soul and body 
as the constituent elements of man. It will be evident, 
from a bare inspection of our delineation, that the 
material part of man, or his body, is placed in the 
blue circle, which represents all Time, or the things 
that have existed, do now exist, or ever will exist ; 
thus, all existing things of nature are imbued with this 

c2 



46 PREFACE. 

universal law of succession, and have consequently a 
beginning, middle, and end. Another law equally 
imperative, and which stamps its character on universal 
nature, is that of extension, which implies that nothing 
in material nature can possibly exist without filling 
Space. Now, nothing can be more evident than that 
the human body — materially considered, and palpably 
addressing the senses — is one of these very things 
of nature subjected to laws, which at the same time 
control all other natural bodies. And a very little 
reflection will soon convince us that the most prominent 
laws of natural objects are the laws of Time and Space; 
nay, so essentially requisite are these two laivs to the 
existence of nature, that, were we for one instant to 
conceive these laws either abrogated or annulled, all 
nature would be annihilated. This grand discovery is 
the guide which safely conducts us through the delicate 
labour of separating in the "Holy Volume" the precepts 
from the facts, that is, the Doctrine from the History. 
Hence we deduce, that whatever consists of matter and 
is determinable by Sense must exist in the blue field 
of our Diagram, be in its nature both extended and 
successive, for ever varying from its birth to its disso- 
lution, in short, must be in Time. But how can that 



PREFACE. 47 

which is in its nature ever subject to change furnish 
permanent rules of conduct ? That, therefore, cannot 
be precept which consists of matter, and is palpable to 
Sense. 

Having, we trust, fully demonstrated that the Body 
is composed of matter, and subject to its laws, it now 
remains for us to show with equal clearness that the 
Soul is wholly different in its essence ; and cannot even 
subsist where matter exists, but must have an abode 
appropriate to its own pure spiritual and immaterial 
nature. Different, indeed, are the laws which charac- 
terize spirit. Here, extension and succession would be 
misplaced. What ! the infinite, perfect, eternal, soul 
of man, that emblem of its Divine Author, to be subject 
to the laws of matter ! God forbid that so much con- 
fusion should reign in any mind ! What the " Saviour" 
taught would, indeed, be of little avail, could his pre- 
cepts be subjected to the ever-changing state of matter. 
Our Eternal Father has really put the wisdom of his 
creatures to the blush, to suppose for a moment that 
the soul of man was subjected to the same laws which 
regulate his material body. 

How can that which we denominate spirit, and which 
is diametrically opposite in its nature, conform to the 



48 PREFACE. 

laws which regulate matter? Matter is divisible and 
changeable — Spirit is simple and eternal. Is spirit 
extended? If so, it must be manifest to Sense, which, 
however, it is not. Neither is it successive. No 5 it 
defies all these laws, and claims a more appropriate 
set of laivs for its government. How can the infinite, 
perfect, and eternal, spirit, or soul, of man be subject 
to the laws which regulate matter and mundane affairs f 
The consciousness of the truth of this position — that 
the immaterial and immortal spirit of man is wholly 
free from the laws of extension and succession — is so 
universally admitted, that the propriety of placing the 
symbol of the soul in a sphere totally distinct from that 
occupied by the body must be more than evident 
even to the most cursory observer. Thus we feel 
fully justified in placing the soul in that part of the 
Diagram which represents Eternity, or the region 
which is wholly independent of the restrictive laws of 
matter. 

Notwithstanding the distinctness with which we can 
contemplate these two essences that constitute a human 
being and their separate laws, still another equally 
essential element is required, before the notion of 
humanity is complete, and that is, the necessary union 



PREFACE. 49 

of body and soul. Can, we, however, conceive a more 
decided notion of a Trinity in Unity than is displayed 
by these three essences, so combined as to constitute 
only one man ! Our Diagram exhibits these distinctive 
elements of man by connecting the body, which is 
constrained to obey the laws of matter, with the soul, 
which is only subject to its own perfect, eternal, and 
immutable, laws, by a chain of communication that 
constantly supplies the animated clay with its influence, 
and thus governs all its motions, by the red tint, which 
is actually a middle tint, or the medium of connexion 
between the deep blue earth and the pure light of 
heaven. The colouring of this design even partakes 
of the triune essence, consisting of the fundamental 
colours, blue, red, and yellow, from whose combinations 
result all the tints which so beautifully diversify the 
whole face of nature. 

From this display we obtain these unanswerable 
results : that the body is subjected, with all its com- 
panions of earth, to the laws of matter; while the soul, 
though infused into and doomed to inhabit its tene- 
ment of clay during its probationary pilgrimage, is 
still wholly and entirely free from the laws of matter, 
and subject only to its own spiritual and immutable 



50 PREFACE. 

laws, from which the motives are derived that govern 
the actions of man. 

" Has matter more than motion? has it thought?" 

Every particle of matter, from its creation to its 
extinction, is bound to obey instinctively the laws which 
it receives at its birth, and has a destined course to 
run in the interminable circle of nature. That which 
was once an acorn, passing through the various stages 
of oak-tree, timber, and so on, till we behold the 
majestic war-ship bidding defiance to England's foes, 
this duty done, returns to its mother earth, to give new 
birth to some fresh thing yet unformed, ringing the 
eternal change of Cause and Effect without end. And 
this purpose in nature is effected without the quantum 
of matter being either increased or diminished. The 
centre or blue sphere in our symbol is intended to 
comprehend the totality of the matter of nature, with all 
its instinctive and necessary laws, from which it cannot 
swerve, being chained down to this eternal and never- 
ceasing round. Our blue circle, therefore, represents the 
field of action of every particle of matter, together with 
its determinate and necessary \&ws, that constitute Sense. 

How differently is spirit circumstanced ! Free as air, 
floating in its sylph-like nature in its own invisible 



PREFACE. 51 

regions, instead of being bound down to necessary laws ; 
proud of the fiat of its Creator, and, in imitation of His 
perfect and spiritual self, an originator of laws, and 
such laws to which all humanity must bow ! To the 
departed angels of light, which are permanent and 
invisible substances, simple and perfect in their nature, 
and imperceptible to Sense, we have assigned a distinct 
abode, represented in our tabular view by the circum- 
ambient yellow sphere, which is intended to embrace the 
whole empire of celestial and pure spirits, which are not 
clogged and impeded in their faculties by the imperfec- 
tions inseparable from man ; but which, though they 
may exist in the eternal kingdom of God in endless 
gradations suited to the merit of their earthly sojourn, 
are still free to ascend higher and higher, so as to 
approximate more nearly to their Spiritual and perfect 
Father. These free agents and originators of the 
moral law, by which alone they allow themselves to be 
governed, are not cognizable by Sense ; but are pure 
spiritual essences, with which, and their laws, Reason 
alone is conversant. 

From the above view of the subject we obtain this 
glorious result : — that the body is subject to the laws 
of matter, which are definite, necessary, in short, in- 

c5 



52 PREFACE. 

stinctive, that is, acting without the choice of Reason, 
yet in strict conformity with the laws of Sense ; and 
that the soul is amenable to the laws of spirit only, 
which are quite free from and independent of any thing 
that pertains to matter, that is, it acts according to 
laws which it originates itself, and which no operation 
of matter can constrain. This is, indeed, perfect freedom 
and absolute ascendancy of sjririt over matter. And, as 
these laws originate in Reason, which is essentially 
spiritual, this proves, to the entire conviction of all 
mankind, the complete supremacy of Reason over 
Sense. 

This mode of expounding the doctrine of the 
" Scriptures" is in perfect conformity with the teaching 
of the Saviour of man, who says : — " I am perfect 
man ; I eat and drink as you do ; but the doctrine I 
teach is from my Father in heaven: all purity and love, it 
is the Koyog, the word of God, or the Reason incarnate." 
And St. Paul also expounds the " Scriptures" in pre- 
cisely the same manner, stating that " man consists of 
a natural body, which is of earth, earthy, and subject 
to the carnal inclinations of the flesh, and also of a 
spiritual body, which is of heaven, heavenly, and which 
acknowledges no other law than the Moral Law, which 



PREFACE. 53 

is engendered by our Reason. But Reason, being 
purely spiritual, cannot be of earth, but must have 
descended from heaven. " How perfectly does this 
confirm the Doctrine taught by Jesus, and establish the 
correctness of our tabular view of man, as being a 
compound of Matter and Spirit, in necessary con- 
junction, or a Trinity in Unity ! 

The existence of these two opposite principles, whose 
union constitutes man, may be still further illustrated 
by the following display of their respective natures ; 
and then we hope that this momentous subject will be 
considered so firmly established as never again to raise 
a doubt, or to require further confirmation. Once 
more referring to our table, we should repeat that the 
objects which exist in the blue field, and constitute 
the whole of nature, consist of extended and successive 
matter, every particle of which acts according to the 
laws which are given to it at its creation. But this 
mode of action is absolutely necessary to its existence, 
and is properly enough denominated instinct. The 
action of matter, however, upon any of the Senses of 
man produces sensation, as the only evidence of its 
existence ; yet sensation can only manifest itself to the 
mind under the two conditions of extension and sue- 



54 PREFACE. 

cession. Hence we may infer that these two conditions 
are laws of the Sensitive Faculty, and are the ground 
of possibility that man can have any sensations at all. 
For, annul these conditions, and we annihilate sensation 
altogether. The usual expressions by which these 
conditions of Sense are designated, are Time and 
Space ; consequently, Time and Space are the con- 
stituent elements of Sense. If, however, any thing on 
earth can be the proper affair of man, it is the sensa- 
tions which are constantly raised in him by the action 
of extended matter on his external senses. And, when 
one individual recounts or records a successive string 
of these sensations to some one else, most assuredly he 
is relating the state of his own feelings to his fellow- 
man. Can this be better expressed than by calling it 
the Word of Man ? Thus much for Sense, or the 
material part of man ! 

How very differently the spiritual part of man is 
circumstanced a slight inspection of the table will 
instantly display. So far from the perfectly pure, 
simple, and immutable, spirit being in any manner 
controlled by matter, on the contrary, it sets all its 
boasted powers at nought, defying rack and torture, 
either to injure or approach its purity. What, then, is 



PREFACE. 55 

that power in man which defies all nature ? It cannot 
be a part of nature, or it would be subject to nature's 
laws. Consequently, it must be something quite 
distinct from nature,, and have a totally different manner 
of subsistence. Neither does it manifest itself to the 
external senses by its extension or succession ; there- 
fore, it cannot be an object of Sense. And yet that 
all-paramount and all-surpassing power needs no assist- 
ance from matter to indicate its existence. This power, 
then, can be no production of earth, but must at this 
very moment be an inhabitant of that celestial abode of 
eternal spirits — heaven. This power manifests itself 
by Principles alone, which are invisible and impalpable 
to Sense, and are the production of Reason. Now, it 
is notorious to the whole world, that Rational Beings 
alone are endowed with the power of acting from the 
mere representation of law r s, that is, from principles, 
which are wholly and entirely free from all the necessity 
which governs matter ; and that all Inferior Beings 
have their motions regulated by a determinate and 
necessary instinct. That part of man, the soul, which 
is wholly free from the restricting conditions of Sense, 
Time, and Space, cannot possibly inhabit the blue 
field in our Diagram, which is destined only for the 



56 PREFACE. 

reception of matter, to the exclusion of spirit ; it has, 
therefore, assigned to it, for its sole and perfectly 
pure residence, the unlimited and infinite field of 
(C Eternity," which is represented by the endless 
display of interminable yellow rays. But, on the one 
hand, when the sensations produced in one individual 
are communicated to another, by the action of matter 
upon matter, and the result is agreed to be denominated 
the Word of Man : when, on the other hand, senti- 
ment, which is the production of Reason, is commu- 
nicated to the Reason of another person, surely this 
result may, nay, must, by way of eminence, be designated 
by the sublime appellation — the Word of God. For 
how can we form a more adequate idea of the words to 
be uttered by a Deity than by tracing, through the 
medium of syllogism, the communion which one spirit 
holds with another ? What, however, is more gratify- 
ing, and enforces our argument to the very centre of 
certainty, is the total impossibility of Sense to infringe 
upon the territory of Reason, or in any way impugn 
its conclusions. Thus, then, we have shown that 
Reason has the power both from its purity and spirit- 
uality to hold for ever its supremacy over Sense : and 
it is only when the carnal inclinations are permitted to 



PREFACE. 



57 



exert their influence beyond their proper and rational 
limits that any struggle for victory can arise. But the 
victory of the good principle over the bad is the most 
decided proof that the Religion of Christ has taken 
deep root in the heart, and that the individual, as to 
principle, is wholly under the influence of Virtue. 

A tabular view of this statement may greatly tend 
to facilitate the comprehension of the whole argument, 
which, in its simple elements, would appear thus : 

MAN 



SOUL, 
that is 

SPIRIT. 

Its law is 

REASON. 



BODY, 
that is 

MATTER. 

Its law is 

SENSE. 



When spirit communes with spirit, the When matter acts upon matter, and 
•suit is spirit ; that is, the raises sensation, the result is, the 



WORD of GOD. 



WORD of MAN. 



Thus we perceive that the "Doctrine" preached 
by Christ is of a perfectly pure and spiritual nature ; 
is not material, and cannot address the senses : it is, 
therefore, a proper object of adoration for man, being 
the evident emanation of a Divinity, and conveying to 
man the commandments of the "Supreme Reason." 



58 PREFACE. 

Now, then, have we, indeed, the distinct territories 
well marked out, for the display of motives and actions. 
That motives, however, should be evident to Sense, and 
exhibited in the blue field of our Diagram, is quite 
impossible, for then they would be of a material nature, 
which they are not. There is, then, no alternative but 
that they must be of a spiritual nature, and at the 
present instant inmates of the celestial kingdom of 
divine light. How, then, can man take cognizance of 
these ethereal scintillations ? He certainly cannot ; the 
utmost stretch of his limited wisdom is to observe the 
action of matter upon matter, and to communicate 
and record the result — which constitutes the proper 
" History" of mundane affairs, while the ministering 
angel, ever -vigilant, and watching the purity of the 
motives, from those that raise and depress empires in 
our material world, down to the most unobserved and 
unobtrusive motives in the inmost recesses of the heart, 
such as those which prompt the cherishing assistance 
secretly afforded to the necessitous, and the dire ven- 
geance levelled against an offending foe — faithfully 
records these motives, as the earthly historian records 
the action, and sometimes ventures, with his con- 
tracted insight, to guess the motive. 



PREFACE. 59 

It is evident, therefore, that motives can only occur 
in our yellow sphere, and never be inhabitants of the 
denser blue. So, then, is man for ever shut out from 
deciding on the motives of his fellow-creatures, and 
left only with the distinguishing privilege of noting, 
and, according to mundane wisdom, deciding on, the 
utility of the action. Man, with his double nature, 
is a member of both hemispheres, and, while his body 
is subject to human legislation, which decides merely 
according to the utility of the action, as far as regards 
his earthly welfare, his soul is subject to the purity of 
Divine legislation. In the former case, man rewards 
or punishes man according to the Word of Man, 
always in reference to the utility or injury of the 
action with relation to mundane affairs. In the 
latter, where the soul communes with its Maker, which 
is wholly beyond the ken of humanity, it is judged 
only in relation to the purity of the motive, which 
alone entitles it to its station among the blessed, and 
can only be ascertained by the Word of God ! The 
silent converse that man holds with his Maker is well 
expressed by the term sentiment, and may be called a 
moral discourse. But, when the action of matter upon 
matter, which produces sensation in man — such as 
being forcibly struck with a sledge-hammer — is related 



60 PREFACE. 

by him to his fellow-man, this is surely a physical dis- 
course. 



THE DESIRES 


THE DESIRES 


of the 


of the 


SPIRIT 


FLESH 


are 


are 


VIRTUE, 


INCLINATION, 


and 


and 


can be satisfied only 


can be satisfied only 


by 


by 


GOODNESS. 


GRATIFICATION 



Reason is the faculty of the soul, which separates 
man from all the other beings of nature ; nay, it 
actually carries us into the regions of Eternity, thus 
lifting us out of nature. It acts quite independently 
of the laws of matter, and by this freedom it originates 
the Moral Law, and shows man what he ought to do, 
to make himself acceptable in the sight of the Lord. 
Accordingly, it is the only power that shows the dis- 
tinction between good and evil : and, by its invisible 
string of syllogisms, is the only criterion by which 
we can decide between truth and falsehood, and thus 
ultimately arrive at the most complete of all certainty, 
Conviction, which St. Paul calls faith, or the " evidence 
of t/wigs not seen" Since the Moral Law is generated 
by Practical Reason, and is wholly distinct from all 
the operations of matter, by what means can we show 
our obedience to its commandments ? Certainly not by 



PREFACE. 61 

any operation of matter on matter. It must, then, of 
necessity be by the influence of spirit upon spirit. 
This cannot take place in the blue field of our Dia- 
gram, which is appropriated exclusively to matter ; 
but can only occur in the endless yellow sphere of 
Eternity. Ohedience to the Moral Law, therefore, 
can only be evinced mentally, and is always an affair 
of man with himself, in reference to his Maker. This 
is usually expressed by the word motive. Whatever 
is implied, in the physical world, by the term action, 
is indicated, in the Moral World, by the word motive. 
These spiritual essences influence our reason, and 
prove the value of the Rational being. Moral beings 
are, therefore, amenable to the Moral Laiv, with regard 
to the purity of their motives, as physical beings are 
accountable to the Judicial Law for the quality of 
their actions, Christ expounds this chief moral laiv, 
by saying : — " Do unto others as you would they 
should do unto you;" and every rational creature is 
bound to obey this commandment, or forfeit his claim 
to Rationality. Conscience determines at once where 
we may venture to place ourselves on the scale of moral 
worthiness. This is the Spirit of Truth, the Holy 
Spirit, or the Holy Ghost, which, Christ says, " I have 



62 PREFACE. 

left with you;" this is the comforter, for, when a man 
has satisfied his conscience, that law of God revealed 
to us by Jesus Christ, he may well be comforted. For 
there is nothing more to be done, in order to be accept- 
able in the sight of the Lord. Can this discourse, 
which Reason holds with itself and with its Maker, be 
any thing but moral, that is, spiritual — and all its 
essence, being wholly invisible, must be mere matter 
of faith and reliance on the goodness and mercy of 
that perfect and Eternal Spirit who first gave us birth. 
Is not this, then, the Word of God ? 

Sense is a passive faculty, which receives impressions 
through the hand, the eye, the ear, and so on, which 
raise sensations in the individual, that are either ex- 
tended or successive, and are the true generators of the 
facts that occur on earth, and which can only be 
known because they address the Senses. These pal- 
pable and substantial things, which constitute physical 
nature, and on which common sense places so much 
reliance, as if they alone contained the ground of all cer- 
tainty, merely because they are sensible, can in no way 
pretend to furnish evidence that can vie with the result 
of syllogism. No approximation even to the certainty 
obtained by Sense can in any way compare with that 



PREFACE. 63 

effected by Reason. Groping about in experience, 
Sense can never produce a single fact about which 
there can be no controversy. How came a live toad to 
be enclosed in a petrifaction, which geologists affirm to 
have been buried for centuries ? Which came first into 
existence, the oak or the acorn ? W A hat intensity of 
feeling has any certain thing produced in any individual? 
Suppose even two persons are viewing the same object, 
each has a different line of vision. Much less can I 
attribute my own individual feeling to another person : 
if I am hot, another person may be quite cold. In 
short, no individual feeling can be the ground of 
mathematical or scientific certainty. A bad foundation, 
this, upon which to raise a universal and permanent 
Religion. Though Christ was seen by his disciples, 
and the multitude who followed, walking up a moun- 
tain, however well this fact may be attested, it affords 
no moral precept, no universal rule of conduct ; but, 
when our Saviour taught, on this very mountain, the 
law that Reason acknowledges — " Do unto others as 
you would they should do unto you," where is th£ 
Reason that can absolve itself from this universal and 
necessary law ! All the operations of matter, that raise 
sensations in man, which are either successive or ex- 



64 PREFACE. 

tended, that is, within the limits of Time and Space, 
are included in the blue field of the Diagram ; and all 
they have the power to do is to evince their existence in 
Time, in accordance with the law of time, each having 
a beginning, middle, and end, in time. Consciousness 
determines the actual presence of mundane objects, 
each of which lasts for a limited time, like the sensa- 
tions they produce. Can any thing be more human, or 
more decidedly belonging to man, than these sensations? 
And can the discourse about these feelings be better 
designated than by calling it the Word of Man t 



MORAL CERTAINTY 


PHYSICAL CERTAINTY 


is effected by 


is produced by 


REASON. 


SENSE. 



Upon the clear and evident distinction that exists 
between the Moral and Physical world, we establish, 
for ever, the 'principle on which the Divarication of 
the " Holy Book " into Doctrine and History is 
founded. Whatever regards Doctrine must partake of 
its purity, be permanent, and exist in Eternity. 
Whatever concerns History must have been fleeting 
in its nature, and have consisted of matter, and its 
action upon other matter ; thus filling up a part of 



PREFACE. 65 

Space, and occupying a portion of Time. This dis- 
tinction is rendered intuitive by a mere glance at the 
Diagram. So necessary, however, are these two laws 
of nature, that, were they annulled, the whole kingdom 
of nature would be annihilated, and blank nothingness 
left, on which human thought cannot be engaged. The 
laws of Time and Space are, therefore, visibly stamped 
on all the objects of nature, which exist only for a 
limited period. Yet these events are capable of being 
noticed, because they produce new and different sensa- 
tions, by constantly gliding down the stream of Time. 
But a faithful account of all the circumstances that 
have occurred in Time must necessarily constitute a 
History of past events. This view of the subject 
completely exhausts every notion that we can form 
relative to the mutations which take place in Time, 
and, as far as our records reach, constitutes History. 
Among the most important of these events are those 
recorded in the "Sacred Book," the history of the 
Creation by Moses, and of the first man, Adam, who 
was made a living soul, placed in a garden, where he 
yielded to temptation, and thus fell. How beautifully 
does this allegory display the gradual enlightenment 
of mankind, by showing that, prior to the development 



66 PREFACE. 

of Reason, the individual was unable to withstand the 
seductions of the inclinations, and that consequently 
Sense obtained the predominance. Hence the Fall of 
Man! The second part of this cc Sacred History" 
amply redeems this fatal overthrow. For here the 
second Adam, who is tempted in a wilderness, entirely 
vanquishes his enemy — the bad passions of the flesh — 
and is the quickening spirit ; for, by the efforts of his 
Reason, the Xoyog incarnate, he so purified himself from 
sensible gratifications, that he completely vanquished 
the arch-enemy of mankind. Thus did Christ redeem 
the world by displaying that obedience to the Word of 
God, the \oyo$, that the whole force of the inclinations 
of the flesh were unable to draw him from his duty; and 
thus did he complete the great work of Atonement. 
This affecting history affords a proof of the possibility 
of Reason obtaining the supremacy over Sense. This 
is the state of cultivated Reason. 

The moral extracted from this " History " will last 
as long as there are human beings to appreciate its 
value ; while it is doubtful if any two particles of the 
material on which Moses recorded his momentous 
story are still in contact. A sufficient proof that the 
moral, the Doctrine, is the permanent part of the 



PREFACE. 67 

" Book/' because even the component parts, or its sub- 
stantial particles, may fade away, while the " Morality" 
of the Book endures for ever. Nay, with respect to the 
facts which it records, each individually could only 
have occurred at one precise point of Time, and can 
never recur. It would afford abundant information to 
the existing generation to have it proved that the 
serpent really talked, and actually told Eve to give 
Adam the apple that he might consummate his own 
condemnation. But, all the researches of the most 
erudite will never be able to produce a fact about 
which there cannot be two opinions. History is, 
therefore, the ground of disagreement, while Doctrine 
is the ground of perfect unanimity. 

The History of our Saviour, his humble birth, his 
ministry, and even the heart-rending recital of his 
crucifixion, though they convey a very affecting and 
most instructive moral, were each of them evanescent 
circumstances, about which no absolute proof can be 
afforded at the present day. Was there darkness over 
the land from the sixth till the ninth hour ? Was the 
veil of the temple rent from the top to the bottom ? Is 
it in the power of man to vouch for what has occurred 
nearly two thousand years ago ? And, if ascertained to 

D 



68 PREFACE. 

the perfect conviction of the querist, what doctrinal 
point is gained by this decision ? If Adam was at all 
acquainted with the properties of the circle, he must 
have been fully aware, as it is generated by the motion 
of a line round one of its ends, that all the lines from 
the centre to the circumference must be equal. Such 
is the case at the present day ; and so will it remain as 
long as human minds exist to contemplate circles. The 
difference between " History" and " Doctrine," 
with regard to its proofs, is perfectly distinct. The 
former never can reach higher than possibility and 
probability \ while the latter affords a conviction, whose 
contrary is impossible. 

The blue sphere in the centre of our Diagram has 
now fully performed its office, by representing the ever- 
varying tablets on which are recorded the evanescent 
sensations that are constantly obtruding themselves on 
the senses. Thus it stands for a general representation 
of all " History," from the creation to the destruction 
of the world, whose characteristic is essentially marked 
by the things spoken of being of an extended form, and 
in a constant state of change, till the matter of which 
they are composed has lost all its tenacity, and assumed 
new forms — the oak and the acorn. Can this state- 



PREFACE. 69 

ment of the case be at all impugned? Are not the 
feelings which have passed through the eye and the 
ear, and been confirmed by the touch, the proper 
elements of History, recording the action of matter 
upon matter ; and is not this discourse, the Word of 
Man, communicated to man ? Thus much for mundane 
affairs ! 

The numerous yellow rays — feeble emblem of 
Eternity — which circumscribe the finite circle of 
Time, will have also done their duty in symbolizing 
the abode of infinite spirits, and representing the depo- 
sitory of departed souls, as well as while these very 
souls are doomed to be members of both spheres. 
Here, also, exist all those permanent and pure prin- 
ciples, which are guides for our moral conduct, the 
most distinguished among which is the Moral Law. 
Whosoever strictly follows the dictates of the moral 
law, which God has planted in the Reason of man, 
does the will of his Father who is in heaven ; and, by 
this faith in the perfect truth of the <( Revelation" 
of his Son Jesus Christ, is not only made a partaker of 
God's spiritual kingdom, but has also secured his 
eternal salvation. Thus, in imitation of our great 
prototype, he may be said to have buried the man of 

d2 



70 PREFACE. 

sin, and is regenerated unto righteousness. This double 
nature of man is the only ground of possibility for the 
exercise of Virtue. For, without the inclinations on 
the one hand, and our moral duties on the other, there 
could be no contest, consequently no Victory. How, 
then, can Virtue, which is an affair of spirit with spirit, 
ever be looked for among the changeable phenomena 
of nature, where instinct alone holds absolute sway, 
defying all freedom f — But is the soul an inhabitant 
of this restricted sphere ? No ! it revels in Eternity, 
enjoying the unlimited purity of its nature with the 
most perfect freedom. So that man, armed with the 
invincible panoply of Reason, may defy the whole 
world of Sense, even in single combat. Here is proof, 
abundant and demonstrative proof, of the purity and 
divinity of the Doctrine contained in the " Sacred 
Volume" — the Aoyoc, as Christ calls himself, when 
teaching the Will of his Father, who is in heaven — 
for our souls already form part of that kingdom of 
spirits which are to inhabit the world to come — thus, 
through Christ are we assured of the resurrection and 
the life everlasting. How, then, dare man presume to 
judge the motives of his fellow-man, when he perceives by 
this display that they are merely the spiritual influence 



PREFACE. 71 

of spirit acting upon spirit, and are not cognizable by 
Sense, but are only affairs of man with his Maker ! 
Can this spiritual communion be better designated, or, 
can any thing more appropriately constitute what is 
understood by Doctrine, than this converse of spirit 
with spirit ? For Christ says " the time will come, and 
is even now, when true worshippers shall worship the 
Father in spirit and in truth." Is not this the Word 
of God ! Thus have we cleared up spiritual essences. 

EXISTENCES IN ETERNITY EXISTENCES IN TIME 

are are 

permanent, universal, and necessary. changeable, particular, and contingent, 

I hope it will appear that I have sufficiently atoned 
for the fault of conciseness, with which the first Edition 
of this work is very properly charged. Should, however, 
this not be the case, I would willingly enter into the 
minutest elements on which the argument is founded, 
and undertake to bring them home to the conviction of 
any one endowed with Reason. The fault just adverted 
to may be attributable to my very intimate acquaint- 
ance with the "System," which furnishes the principle 
of the " Divarication " of the Scriptures into "Doc- 
trine and History," or, in other words, into Reason 
and Sense — a System, whose least claim to merit is 



72 PREFACE. 

that of finally reconciling all religious animosities ; 
producing unanimity and concord among all religious 
sects; and, lastly, establishing the " Revelation" of 
Jesus Christ as the only true u Divine Revelation" — 
in consequence of its being in accordance with Reason, 
and proving that all other religions in the world must 
be spurious. But the higher claims of this Science are 
such as make man intimately acquainted with himself, 
so that he may try every motive, and compare it with 
the purity of the Moral Law ; and that there shall not 
exist a sentiment in the inmost recess of his soul but 
what may be brought to the bar of Conscience. 

Forty years' intercourse with this " Science" has 
produced such a perfect conviction of the truth and 
necessity of this division of the " Scriptures," that I, 
no doubt, fancied a mere hint would be sufficient to 
produce the same conviction in others. While enlight- 
enment is an object of importance, we may, indeed, 
regret that half a century should have rolled on, and 
the very Science which eradicates or suppresses all 
the bad passions, annihilates superstition, and crushes 
atheism, should be so little known in a country famed 
for its progress in intellectual advancement. It seems 
as if a spell were set, to prevent the introduction of 



PREFACE. 73 

this salutary " System" into our favoured land. The 
sage of Kdnigsberg is the author of this masterpiece of 
human intellect — a perfect "Philosophy of Mind," 
which he has designated by the term " Transcen- 
dental Philosophy/' This is the " System" whence 
are derived all the laivs, physical and moral, which 
operate on body and Soul; and whence arises the 
belief in God, in the immortality of the soul, and in 
a future state of rewards and punishments. This 
" System" also establishes the Divine origin of the 
" Revelation" contained in the "New Testament." 

<©n tijc fHolg Crimtg. 

The Mystery of the " Holy Trinity," as it is 
termed, we have endeavoured to explain in the earlier 
edition of this work, but, as this explanation also has 
been unfortunately considered too concise to command 
universal conviction, we feel it a duty to go more at 
length into the arguments which unveil the mystery in 
this most vital part of the " Religion of Christ." 

The subject is indeed momentous. For what can be 
more desirable than that rational beings should have a 
correct and comprehensive view of the perfection, 
purity, and sublimity, of the God whom they ought 



74 PREFACE. 

devoutly to worship and adore ! — But, while there 
exists the possibility of a difference of opinion regarding 
the attributes of the Divine Essence, there must 
necessarily also be a cloud in the mind, which obscures 
the pure light of science ; and even renders the laws 
which we are forced to acknowledge to be divine — 
because they are superhuman — less effective on our 
earthly conduct. Be it our duty, therefore, to remove 
all mystery which is supposed to envelop in gloom the 
principles which constitute this Glorious Triad. 
However, this must be so effectually accomplished, 
that no sound reasoning mind shall be able to dissent 
from or deny the powerful conviction afforded by the 
arguments we shall adduce, to dissipate and dispel 
every difficulty which has hitherto perplexed this only 
true and correct view of the Divine Mind — or the 
task had better not been undertaken. 

I affirm that the elements on which the notion of a 
Triune Essence is founded are coeval with the human 
mind ; nay, that they are connate with it, and actually 
constitute its very essence. This is the point I intend 
to exemplify, and, as I flatter myself, distinctly to prove. 

To think is impossible for man without a triad : for 
there must be, first — a mind that thinks ; secondly, an 



PREFACE. 75 

object to think upon and, thirdly, the connexion of 
these two, or the thought. And, whenever we reflect 
upon the meaning we attach to the word thing, we 
shall find that this elementary trinity secretly forms 
the foundation of the notion. For, were we to annul 
any one of the elements here enumerated, we should 
find the thing, whether it be an object of beautiful 
nature that every where fills us with delight, or the 
contemplation of the sublime and awful Author of that 
very nature, still the triad is found concealed at the 
bottom. Availing ourselves of the simplicity of the 
algebraic form of expression, we should say : — 

Mind + Object + Thought = Thing. 

Though we have employed the algebraic expression, 
we do not mean to allow advantage to be taken of us, 
and to submit to the analytics and substitution of the 
algebraist. All we contend for is the universal axiom, 
that " all the parts are equal to the whole." Thus, 
then, our notion of a thing necessarily involves the 
three elements essential to its constitution, any one of 
which being annulled, the notion cannot exist. Suppose 
mind away, and we can have neither object nor thought ; 
and so with either of the other terms of the equation. 
Now, God is a spiritual thing : hence, the notion of 



76 PREFACE. 

God must consist of three essential parts. Nothing- 
can exceed the truth of this proposition. 

That the notion of the Deity actually consists of 
three necessary elements, and neither more nor less, it 
is our task to prove. First, then, we affirm that when 
a person forms a notion of God it is peremptory in 
him to allow that, under the notion of God, he implies 
a Creator. But Creator is a meanless term, unless a 
creation has been effected. The Creation, indeed. 
stares us in the face, to prove the necessity of its 
xluthor. All we have, then, to do, is to acknowledge 
that what we behold is the work of Him who made it, 
and we have accomplished our herculean labour, and 
thus shown that He who did the work is virtually 
its Author, and necessarily stands in Connexion 
with his production \ whence we obtain the following 
equation : 

GOD. 

Creator -\- Creation -\- Connexion = Universe. 

If either of the elements which constitute the notion 
of God are annulled, all nature, or the universe, will be 
also destroyed. But nature cheerfully denies the fact. 
Then, God consists necessarily of the three elements, 
and exists in all his glory, ruling and directing his 



PREFACE. 77 

mundane affairs. This mode of reasoning leads the 
mind to the most improving and delightful train of 
thought. " Can there be a more powerful incentive to 
devout gratitude than to consider the universe with a 
particular reference to the Creator ?" Every pro- 
duction of nature strikes a spark into the soul, and 
Creation every where shouts a present Deity, which 
the vaulted roof of heaven re-echoes. " Can any thing 
impart a stronger joy to the believer, or more effectually 
confirm his faith in the crucified Jesus, than beholding 
the heavens declaring the marvellous work of his 
heavenly Father ? " 

Here, it must be abundantly evident that the idea of 
God necessarily involves three elementary notions, 
none of which can be dispensed with, without universal 
annihilation — dreadful thought ! These notions of the 
Divine Essence are therefore coequal and coeternal, 
neither having a priority of the other, and yet these 
three elements only constitute one God. It must, 
however, be remembered that our present object is 
only to establish the 'principle, which must effectually 
be done before we attempt to apply it to its sacred 
office ; and this we hope so fully and completely to 
accomplish as to trace it through entire nature, from 



78 PREFACE. 

the minutest particle of conceivable matter, and thence 
pursue its ramifications through the various objects of 
thought, till we arrive at Nature's God; where we 
shall behold it blaze forth in all its glory. 

The word Coeval seems to involve the whole difficulty. 
The complete development of this term will, therefore, 
unravel the mystery, which, after all, may turn out to 
be merely verbal. Whatever exists in nature first 
manifests itself to Sense, by raising sensations which 
represent the properties of the thing. This sets the 
mind to work to find out the principle, which enables 
these properties to constitute a single thing ; and this 
is the procedure of Reason. This process at once 
solves the difficulty ; for it says : There must exist in 
nature as much principle as is necessary to support 
nature; and so, of every individual thing there must 
exist just enough substance to support its properties, 
neither more nor less. Now, this is only establishing 
the axiom — that all the parts are equal to the whole. 
But the parts which constitute a whole must all be 
Coeval — all exist at the same time — or the whole 
cannot exist. Hence, there must be as much principle 
as matter in nature, and these tico must be in necessary 
connexion. The arranging and connecting of the parts 



PREFACE. 79 

of matter is precisely that which constitutes its form. 
Thus, we obtain this equation : 

Matter -f- Form -f- Connexion = Thing. 

The smallest number of parts that can possibly be 
connected are two, which, with the principle of con- 
nexion essentially necessary to constitute one thing, 
make three elements. Every single thing, therefore, 
consists of three heterogeneous principles. To build a 
house we first take one brick (outqc), and then another 
(hspog), and cement them together; this we call con- 
nexion (o-uvs^ff). These three elements only make 
one thing, which we call the corner-stone of the 
building : a repetition of this act completes the edifice. 
The same process takes place also in mental things, 
as the mathematics ; and, lastly, in spiritual things, 
as religion and morals. If we annul the matter, the 
thing has vanished ; if we annul the form, the thing is 
chaotic and unintelligible ; and, lastly, if we deny its 
connexion, it is disjoined matter, but no specific thing. 
Consequently, every thing that is cogitable by man 
must submit to this mental law, and have all its parts 
in connexion, that is to say, they must be both Coeval 
and Correlative. Thus man consists of a material 
body quickened by a living soul ; yet, unless these two 



80 PREFACE. 

elements are in strict connexion, they do not constitute 
man : for the body without the soul is a corpse, and 
the soul without the body is an angel. Hence the 
absolute necessity of their connexion to constitute man, 

thus : 

MAN. 

Body -f- Soul -(- Connexion = Human Being. 

A glance at our Diagram will render the truth of this 
position more evident than multiplying words will be 
able to do. It will be abundantly evident to the most 
uninformed mind that these three elements are absolutely 
necessary to constitute that reasoning animal, called 
man. It will also be clear that they must exist at the 
same time, that is, be all Coeval. The least number 
of things that can exist at one time, or be coeval, is 
three — two parts and their connexion ; these are 
absolutely necessary to constitute a thing : ovto$, erspos, 
(ruvsxyS) and this is a fundamental laiv of the mind, 
which, if abrogated, all nature is destroyed. 

We now come to investigate those phenomena of 
nature where succession is evinced. Thus, to drive a 
nail we employ a hammer ; the hammer, when im- 
pelling the nail, is termed a Cause, and the entering of 
the nail is called an Effect, Notwithstanding there is 



PREFACE. 81 

an evident priority in point of time between the Cause 
and the Effect, with regard to things of Sense, yet, as 
a principle of Reason, these two notions can have 
none. For Reason is a faculty of the soul, and an 
inhabitant of Eternity, where the laws of time cannot 
have place, which an inspection of our table will render 
intuitive. Consequently, these two notions must be 
correlative, and stand in perpetual Relation to each 
other. Whatever period of time the natural production 
may require to evidence its resulting from a Cause — 
as the seed sown to produce the future tree, the oak and 
the acorn — still this in no way interferes with the 
law of the mind, called Cause, Effect, and Relation 
between them. 

Who, on beholding that famed pile of antiquity, 
Stonehenge, but instantly detects his mind at work to 
account for the origin, use, and erection, of this 
stupendous ruin, and feels assured that it was con- 
structed for some purpose or other. The incessant 
restlessness of Reason, in exerting this law of trying 
to discover a Cause for every Effect, is here strongly 
evinced. Nor will all the previous accounts furnished 
by diligent enquirers satisfy the reflective mind, nor 
arrest its progress in the prosecution of its ow T n indi- 



82 PREFACE. 

genous law. Neither will it be satisfied with the 
supposition that these ponderous masses of stone were 
heaped together as a place of worship, a Druid's 
Temple, or a monument to the renowned Hengist ; or 
assume, with the legend, that they were miraculously 
transported from the Giants' Causeway by the patron 
Saint of Ireland. That which has already puzzled so 
many of the learned will long continue to give exercise 
to that ever-restless faculty, Reason ; and, as this 
example belongs to the department of History, it will 
be long, very long, before it produces conviction in 
favour of any one statement : — can it ever ! 

Thoroughly satisfied that this ceaseless searching 
after a Cause is an original law of the mind, we cannot 
wonder at finding it exercised on all occasions, even from 
the inspection of a mite to the profound investigation 
of the attributes of the Sublime Author of the Universe. 
So predominant is this ever- striving faculty, Reason, 
in its efforts to account for every thing, that we cannot 
behold the most trifling thing in nature without per- 
ceiving its active influence in operation. On seeing 
that well-known machine and useful time-measurer, 
a watch, the mind instantly flies to the notion of 
its Cause, and assures itself at once that there must 



PREFACE. 83 

have been a watch-maker, who stood in relation to 
the watch. This may be illustrated in the following 
manner : 

CAUSALITY. 



REASON. SENSE. 

permanent. changeable. 

1. Cause . . . = 1. Watch Maker. 

2. Effect . . . = 2. Watch. 

3. Relation between them. = 3. Relation between them. 






The watch may long remain in Time, a powerful 
evidence of the necessity of an Author. The originator 
of the watch may, however, have long since paid the 
debt of nature, and the matter that once embodied his 
soul may be employed in some new office. Not so the 
principle of Causality, whose unchangeable nature 
could not endure a moment in the blue sphere of our 
Diagram, but, on the contrary, must inhabit the yellow 
abode of its kindred spirits, where alone the perfectly 
pure, incorruptible, and permanent, nature of this prin- 
ciple can subsist, and be in Eternity. If the watch 
could not change and go to decay, it could not be a 
thing of nature, that is, of Sense. If a princijile could 
ever change, it could not be a principle, that is, a per- 
manent object of perfect Reason. The principle of 
Causality must ever have been the same, because it 



84 PREFACE. 

is an original law of the mind — the same for Adam, 
for the present and for all future generations 5 always 
consisting of three elementary parts, qvtos, srepog, o-uvs^s 
— Cause, Effect, Relation. 

It is inconceivable what confusion of thought every 
where prevails for want of this necessary distinction 
between the operations of Reason and the affections 
of Sense. This distinction is so happily displayed 
in our Diagram as to be readily seized by the infan- 
tile thinker, and thoroughly confirmed by the adept 
in the art of reasoning. We believe that it is not 
generally understood that Time can have a limit ; but, 
if Eternity is where Time is not, how can it be 
otherwise ? More science will correct such errors, and 
then we shall approach nearer to truth in our con- 
clusions. Another error, whose baneful effects pervade 
the whole territory of thought, seems to be the sup- 
position that Time itself is in constant successio?i, 
whereas the very contrary is the case. Time is an 
elementary principle of the mind, and, being a mental 
law, must of course dwell in Eternity, along with 
all the other original constituents of that instrument of 
thought, the human mind, whose total number amount 
to Twenty. It is, indeed, true that the things in 



PREFACE. 85 

Time, that is, the things of nature, or the affections of 
Sense, are all constrained to obey this principle of the 
mind — succession ; but surely, both principle and thing 
cannot be equally in succession. For the thing must 
be in Time, and the principle must be in Eternity. 
How admirably does our Diagram indicate this Truth, 
by placing viW. finite and successive things in the centre 
blue 5 while Time, like an imperceptible speck, is lost in 
the immense ocean of boundless infinitude — Eternity. 

We have now traced the principle of the necessary 
compound of three elements to constitute one thing, 
through the limited sphere of the affections of Sense, 
to the boundless region of the operations of Reason, 
and have in every instance uniformly found it to be a 
principle — that is, a fundamental and original truth, a 
first position from which all thinking flows, an original 
tenet on which all religion and morality is erected, and 
without which nothing at all could exist — all would be 
void nothingness, and blank desolation ! 

The essence of a principle is that it is universally 
ajiplicable, in all cases, and is as inexhaustible at its 
commencement as in its final appropriation. This 
essence is happily illustrated in the principle of the 
divisibility of space ; and may be equally exemplified 
in the divisibility of matter. For that cannot be matter 



86 PREFACE. 

which does not consist of parts by the side of parts, 
that is, parts in extension, which fill up Space and 
occupy Time : and if it does obey this law, and coincide 
with the principle which constitutes all matter, it must 
be divisible, or cease to be matter. So completely does 
this confirm the truth of our Triune Principle, that 
were we to depart from it in a single instance all 
thinking would be annulled, and, dreadful to conceive ! 
the idea of God annihilated. According to what has 
preceded, however, we are happily relieved from this 
distressing dilemma by the necessity of acknowledging 
that all the parts are equal to the whole, and that the 
least number of parts that can be joined are tivo, which, 
together with their uniting principle, connexion, con- 
stitute a thing : oi>to$, hepo$, crwep^f, or the full esta- 
blishment of the Triune Principle. 

It only remains, therefore, for us to investigate the 
very axiom which forms the foundation of all our 
reasoning — an axiom that may well boast of having 
stood the test of ages. This principle was handed down 
to us by the renowned Euclid, who flourished three 
centuries before the birth of our " Saviour." From 
this great geometer, who had the courage to inform his 
illustrious pupil King Ptolemy that there was no royal 
road to the mathematics — even Kings must wade 



PREFACE. 87 

through science to arrive at truth — we learn that this 
principle was in full force at his time ; we know it to 
exist with us in its pristine vigour ; and we may with 
equal safety determine, that it must have been precisely 
the same for Adam. Nay, being a. principle, what can 
escape its influence ; for, if Deity is any thing, it must 
consist of all its parts. Hence, the principle pervades 
every thing. All the improvement that the enlighten- 
ment of two thousand years has been able to effect 
with regard to this truism, is to determine with more 
precision what this great thinker loosely denominated 
parts : thus, at the present day, we should say that 
whatever constitutes the parts is divisible into three 
distinct species ; first, the unity or root of all numbers ; 
secondly, an indefinite number of unities, which com- 
pose a multitude ; and, thirdly, the summation of this 
amount making a totality. So that even parts neces- 
sarily submit to the Triune Law, in order to constitute 
one thing : thus — 

AXIOM. 
Unity + Multitude -f Totality = a Whole. 

The truth of this statement may be illustrated as 
follows : admitting we have counted as high as ninety 
nine, I call this a whole, and say, and one makes a 
hundred, thus : 99 + 1 + connexion = 100. Here, 



88 PREFACE. 

unless the unity is actually connected with the former 
aggregate, the new totality could not arise — the olroc, 
hspoc, vwexfts — nor the hundred be produced. 

Hence, we infer that, as in the composition of every 
possible thing, three heterogeneous principles must 
combine their influence to constitute one thing, we are 
constrained to allow this 

CONCLUSION. 
The root of ONE is three. 

As the previous argument is arranged in the form of 
equations, it may be as well to give a familiar account 
of this powerful agent in the art of reasoning. Equations 
express the same quantity in two dissimilar terms. This 
may be well exemplified by a pair of scales, having a 
pound weight in one, olrot;, and sixteen ounces in the 
other, hspoq, which, being held in connexion, a-vvs^g, by 
the beam, are in equilibrium, or equality of evidence, 
in fact — an equation. Here even we perceive the 
Triune Principle exerting its influence by having its 
three heterogeneous principles all in action at once, all 
Coeval and Correlative, or the act of judging is totally 
destroyed. Suppose, for instance, only fifteen ounces 
were to be placed in one scale instead of sixteen, but 
yet that the other ounce weight was lying on the table 
on the same side and near this scale, still the whole 



PREFACE. 89 

equation would be destroyed. This proves the absolute 
necessity that all the parts which are to be equal to the 
whole must actually exert a positive influence on each 
other, or be in a reciprocal state of action and reaction, 
which in objects of Sense always implies contact, as 
the third element or connecting link, and in principles 
of Reason three permanent and eternal essences in 
union, or a spiritual Trinity in Unity. 

In the formation of a Circle, these three heteroge- 
neous principles are very apparent. Unless we assume 
a centre, as a firm point about which the same straight 
line revolves, we cannot even commence the operation 
of describing a circle ; and, however far we may have 
proceeded with the revolution of the given line, yet, 
until we have reached the point in the circumference 
from which we started, no part of the figure bears the 
name of a Circle. The very instant, however, that 
the commencing and final points of the periphery come 
in contact, the figure is designated by the term Circle. 
This equation then arises : that, in order to generate 
a Circle, three heterogeneous principles are essentially 
necessary, and these must be both Coeval and Corre- 
lative, or no circle whatever can exist. Hence we 
obtain the following equation : 

Centre -J- Radius -f- Periphery = Circle. 



90 PREFACE. 

These three heterogeneous principles, once combined, 
being in a state of permanent and eternal union, in 
order to produce one essence, is beautifully elucidated 
in the figure of a Triangle. Whatever priority in point 
of time may exist in the formation of the symbol of 
this figure, which is intended to affect Sense, yet, 
until the three principles of Reason are acknowledged 
in our consciousness, no triangle can exist either spirit- 
ually or materially. Let us draw three lines, so that 
when they meet at three points they will form a triangle, 
yet, till the actual accomplishment of this purpose is 
effected, we dare not call it even a figure, much less a 
triangle ; but, the very moment that contact has taken 
place at the final angle, consciousness acknowledges the 
presence of the three permanent principles of Reason, 
which have always inhabited Eternity, even though 
they were now first made known or revealed to man. 
Thus, then, we perceive that this principle of a Trinity 
in Unity must manifest itself in Eternity in all its 
purity ; not only be now and for ever more, but ulti- 
mately centre in the Godhead, whose very essence it 
constitutes, and all its parts must be both Coeval and 
Correlative. The result of this reasoning, with its 
various equations, may be conveniently disposed in the 
following manner : 



PREFACE. 



91 



TABLE OF MORAL EQUATIONS. 

COEVAL. 



Equation. 



% 



C + R + P = Circle. 




GOD. 

Creator -f- Creation -\- Connexion = Universe. 

MAN. 
Body-]- Soul -f- Connexion = Human Being 

CAUSALITY. 



REASON, 

permanent. 

1. Cause 

2. Effect 



SENSE, 
changeable. 

1. Watch Maker. 

2. Watch. 



3. Relation between them . = 3. Relation between them. 

MIND and MATTER, 

settled for ever. 
Mind -f- Object. + Thought = Spiritual Thing. 
Matter -}- Form -j- Connexion = Material Thing. 

AXIOM. 

Unity + Multitude -j- Totality = a whole. 

CONCLUSION. 

.-. The root of ONE is three. 

Hence — a Triad of Principles is as much a law of universal nature as the 
law of gravitation. 



Maker + Soul + Relation = GOD. 

DEFINITIONS. 

MATTER is Smsation raised by external Objects in SENSE. 
MIND is Principle produced by Syllogisms of REASON. 



92 PREFACE, 



<&n tfje Application of tf)e Critme principle. 

At length the pleasing task devolves on us of applying 
the principle of a Trinity in Unity to that ineffable 
source of life and lights the Godhead. In doing this, 
we must confidently presume that the details through 
which we have already travelled have completely esta- 
blished the truth — that the very act of thinking involves 
the triune principle inits veryessence. Should, however, 
this not be the case, and we have failed to fix for ever 
this eternal principle, still we may presume to hope 
that the hints here thrown out may promote the future 
operations of some more successful adventurer in the 
bold and hazardous undertaking — settling for ever that 
most vital point of the "Religion of Christ." 

But, on the other hand, if the principle of triads — 
without which human thought cannot exist, and which 
ultimately settles and centres in the very Essence of 
Deity itself — proves to be firmly established, and for 
ever indelibly fixed in every human mind, then the 
glorious result that we may venture to contemplate will 
form so pleasing a consolation and solace to our mind, 
as, from this blessed Conviction, to make us partakers 



PREFACE. 93 

of the realms of eternal bliss, even while we are grovelling 
here below — not in light, but darkness visible. The 
prospective benefits that will flow from a solution of a 
difficulty which has agitated the religious world for 
nearly two thousand years, and which already flit before 
us in imagination, far exceed anything that the limited 
faculties of man can conceive ; and of their magnitude 
we can form no idea, as the soul is fitted for approxima- 
ting perfection without end. Now to the grateful task ! 

THERE IS A GOD ! 

It is absolutely impossible that nothing at all exists, 
while we exist who make the assertion. As nothing 
can exist which is not possible, it is evident that the 
last ground of all possibility must rest in something 
that actually does exist. Hence : — that " there is a 
God" is a position which cannot be denied. Indeed, 
this overwhelming truth is so thoroughly interwoven 
in our nature, that all argument to enforce it seems 
superfluous. Yet this truth becomes even more powerful, 
by attempting to negative His existence. If we annul 
all existence, we at the same time annul all possibility, 
and nothing whatever remains, which contradicts the 
fact. Therefore, an Absolutely Necessary Being actually 

e2 



94 PREFACE. 

exists, who comprises in himself the last ground of all 
possibility; and all things else must be considered 
merely as consequences flowing from this Primitive and 
Original Source. That, however, which is merely 
dependent may be annulled without destroying its 
original Cause ; because it is contingent, and not 
absolutely necessary. This " Necessary Being/' then, 
must contain the last ground of all possibility; and, 
as there cannot be two last grounds, this Absolutely 
Necessary Being must be one. 

He must also be simple, that is, so constructed that, 
if any part is taken away, the whole is destroyed. For, 
if he is composed he may be divided, and part taken 
away. But the part which is taken away need not be 
necessary, but contingent. If, however, only one part 
is necessary, all the rest must be contingent; it is, 
therefore, absurd to annul part of a thing and still call 
it a whole. This is to destroy the internal possibility 
of a thing, or, in other words, to destroy it altogether. 
If we annul either the centre, the radius, or the circum- 
ference, the circle vanishes ; and if we remove the base 
from a triangle, the whole is destroyed. But to assert 
that all triangles must be right- angled is to confound 
the contingent with the necessary. Likewise, if we annul 



PREFACE. 95 

all existence we at the same time destroy all possibility 
and all reality, and nothing whatever remains. Hence 
the Divine Essence cannot be divided, and is conse- 
quently simple. 

All that exists in Eternity is absolutely simple, 
having all its parts so connected with each other that 
if any, the least, particle were taken away the whole 
would be destroyed. Not so with the things in Time. 
The usual tint of vegetating nature is green ; but if this 
colour disappears the tree does not cease to exist. 
Reason is a faculty of man, which exists wholly in 
Eternity, though it influences the things in Time. 
This will be very apparent on inspection of our Diagram, 
where the soul is represented as existing in the outer 
sphere, where every thing is pure, simple, and strictly 
necessary, or in Eternity ; and the body is placed in 
the centre blue, where every thing is composed, and, as 
far as regards man, contingent, that is, part may be 
taken away without destroying the whole. Many are 
the instances in nature that confirm this truth. The 
loss of any one of the senses, or in fact of any of the 
members of the body, does not destroy the individual. 
But whatever occurs to the body can never affect the 
soul, which lives and breathes in a totally different 



96 



PREFACE. 



sphere. Principles are necessary, Sensations are contin- 
gent : thus, all the elements of the mind are absolutely 
necessary; and it is absolutely uncertain, being purely 
accidental, what sensation will next affect the Sense — 
which may be thus displayed : 



MAN 



1 



r 
SOUL. 

REASON. 

its Laws are 
a priori, 

and 

Original Princip 

of the 

MIND, 



BODY. 

SENSE. 

its Rules are 

a posteriori, 

and 

Derived from Sensations 

in the 

MIND, 

and are 



NECESSARY. 



CONTINGENT. 



Laws are indispensable, but the origi- Sensations are accidental, and compulsion 
nation of laws is in action is 



FREEDOM. 



SLAVERY. 



To begin a state of itself, or to commence a series 
of events, is freedom; and this power is Practical 
Reason, which originates its own principles, that arise 
out of its own nature. Now, as these principles are not 
laws of matter, which only regard the action of matter 
on matter, these laws must therefore regard the com- 



PREFACE. 97 

munion of spirit with spirit, and compose a code of 
laws, which may very properly be termed Moral, having 
the Moral Laiv at their head. Hence man is free 
with regard to the motive which induces the action. 
Every object of nature is bound down to certain laws 
impressed upon it at its creation, and every alteration 
depends on a prior cause. The nail knows no freedom 
when driven by the hammer, nor the poor Negro who 
labours in fear of the lash. This is the instinct of 
Nature, and, with regard to man, slavery. Freedom 
in man depends on the exercise of his Practical 
Reason, and regards the purity of his motives, for 
which alone he is accountable. Slavery, on the con- 
trary, is produced by the employment of physical 
power to compel actions. That these opposing powers 
can exist together is rendered quite evident by an in- 
spection of the table, where the soul, or the accountable 
part of man, resides in a totally different region — 
Eternity — from that which the body occupies — Time. 
So that there is no contradiction in saying that man 
is both free and constrained. Free in the choice of 
the motive, but, not having full control over nature, 
he can never precisely say what effect the action will 
produce. 



98 PREFACE. 

We trust we have fully established the position that 
the Divine Essence is one, simple in its substance, a 
spirit in its nature, eternal in its duration, immutable 
in its quality, all-sufficient both as to all that is possible 
and all that is actual — that, in fact, 

THERE IS A GOD ! 

This is, indeed, the idea of a Spirit with which 
nothing on earth can compare. Whatever exquisite 
properties we discover in the Creature, as to order, 
beauty, perfection, arrangement, morality, and good- 
ness, how much, nay, how infinitely more, must all 
these be surpassed in the Creator ! Who but the 
Creator made the Creature ! And is he not, then, 
the work of his Maker ? — and can either the Creator 
or the Creature deny the Relation that exists between 
both? Hence, we obtain a glimpse of the Triune 
Notion of a Godhead. 

Who will deny his Reason, and forswear his God ! 
Has he then lost his Reason! — that faculty which 
alone elevates and distinguishes man from all created 
beings displays its powers in the realms of infinitude ; 
that faculty, which is simple in its nature and eternal 
in its existence — which is so sublimely designated in 



PREFACE. 99 

the " Scriptures" by those all- expressive words — "God 
made man in his own image ! " — No one ! For the con- 
sciousness of the control which this faculty exerts over 
the carnal inclinations is too fully acknowledged and 
too easily proved to be for a moment doubted. Pure 
Reason cannot reside among the changeable phenomena 
of nature — it must exist wholly apart from them, in 
a region entirely free from their influence, and which 
is the sacred abode of holy spirits. 

Here the Will sits enthroned on the highest pinnacle 
of pure intellect, defying the impotent endeavours of 
the whole material universe either to approach or disturb 
the serene and sublimely exalted station from which 
she authoritatively dispenses her laws to the entire 
" Kingdom of Rational Beings " commanding them, 
as they value the salvation of their souls, to act, on all 
occasions, in strict conformity with these pure and 
perfect laivs — that is, always to act rationally. 

Herein consists the Dignity of man, that he possesses 
a power to originate and to establish for his own govern- 
ance a " Code of Laws/' which are not only out of 
the sphere of nature but totally free from its influence. 
What a prospect does this open to the ultimate destina- 
tion of man ! 

e 5 



100 PREFACE. 

When the Moral Law is made the determining motive 
of the Will 5 who can doubt the purity and sanctity of 
this holy law, which is the ground of the action that 
operates on the things of Sense ! Who can doubt the 
honesty and sincerity of that individual whose motives 
are ever drawn from this pure source — even though a 
chain of unfortunate and disastrous events follow the 
very first action he performs ? God, judging from the 
purity of the motive alone, acquits him wholly of all 
the evils he has produced : man, wanting omniscience, 
judges solely from the utility of the action. But to 
allow no other incentive to the Will than reverence for 
this sacred and holy law — the Moral Law — is acting 
from a consciousness of the objective Law of all rational 
beings — Practical Reason. Hence, Free Will and 
Practical Reason are synonymous. Actions performed 
from pure motives like these leave a calm satisfaction 
and pure delight in the soul, which defies description, 
and to which no earthly bliss can, in the least, com- 
pare. 

But for the twofold nature of man, Virtue would not 
be possible, and the victory obtained over the sinful 
lusts of the flesh — the highest merit of the Christian — 
could not exist. This is beautifully exemplified in the 



PREFACE. 101 

" Saviour" of man, when he undertook the " Redemp- 
tion" of the world, and affords a practical instance of 
the total suppression of the desires of Sense, and on 
all occasions of their subordination to the supreme law 
of Practical Reason. The sensitive desires are created 
expressly to produce this struggle, and the victory or 
defeat in the conflict determines the station which the 
rational being assigns to himself in the scale of holiness. 
Should he have suffered the inclinations to take the lead, 
and thus have surrendered up his Reason to become a 
slave to Sense, then, indeed, may he dread his entrance 
into Eternity. Oh ! may this thought alarm our fears, 
quicken our hopes, and animate our endeavours ! If 
he looks back, what a melancholy prospect he beholds ! — 
sins unrepented, mercy slighted, and the day of judgment 
fast approaching ! Yet 5 Sense, unappalled, asserts its 
claim, and boldly demands : — Why have I these desires 
if they are not to be gratified ? The reason is plain — 
to cause the very conflict that ensures the victory. 
Now, Speculative Reason advocates the cause of 
Sense, and furnishes maxims which are subjective 
determining grounds of the Will of each individual, 
and are calculated to produce the most lasting effects, 
with regard to man's happiness on earth, such as : — 



102 PREFACE. 

moderation in enjoyment prolongs the benefit; ex- 
cesses always carry with them their own punishment. 
Hence arises the Doctrine of Prudence, which obtains 
and employs all the means in its power to promote and 
prolong that natural, though sensual, end of man — 
Happiness. 

Interested motives detract from the worth of the 
action. We can always tell when the motive is pure ; 
because then all views of benefit and advantage are 
waved, for the sole purpose of acting in strict conformity 
with the Moral Law ; and the only spring to action is 
reverence for the law of our own Practical Reason. 
Then we are sure that the action is good, because the 
motive is purely moral, and has nothing else in view 
but our ILternal Welfare. On the other hand, when 
the action aims at some specific benefit, something that 
promotes our earthly advantage, we are sure that it is 
prompted by Speculative Reason, and that it regards 
our Temporal Welfare. In both cases, the actions 
may be legal, that is, conform strictly to the moral 
law ; but those actions alone are moral which entirely 
disregard utility, and are performed purely out of 
reverence for the law which we give to ourselves by 
virtue of our Practical Reason. 



PREFACE. 



103 



What can equal the importance of our Eternal 
Welfare ! — nay, for what other purpose did our Saviour 
Reveal the Gospels ! Now, as this object can only be 
obtained through the purity of the motive, which ought 
to be a universal law for all mankind, we feel it a duty 
to display this argument in the following table : 



( — _ ~ 
MAN 



r 

SOUL. 

Its Law is 



PRACTICAL REASON, 

which 

is the Objective Incentive 

to the 

WILL, 

and constitutes a pure 
MORAL 



consists of. 



BODY. 

Its Law is 
SPECULATIVE REASON, 

which 

is the Subjective Incentive 

to the 

WILL, 

and constitutes an impure 
PHYSICAL 



MOTIVE. 



MAXIM. 



Let your motive be a universal law of Let your action promote the greatest 

sum of earthly 

HAPPINESS. 



Supreme happiness can only be obtained by subjecting 
the desires of Sense to the laws of Practical Reason, 
that is, by subduing all the inclinations to such a degree 
that they are wholly under the dominion of the law of 
Virtue. The only way, therefore, to be really good and 



104 PREFACE. 

virtuous is on all occasions to obey the dictates of the 
Moral Law — " Be strictly virtuous whatever may be 
the consequence" — and never to allow ourselves the 
enjoyment of any set of sensations, until they have 
undergone the scrutinizing examination of Practical 
Reason, and are proved to be in harmony with the 
Moral Law. It is on this principle alone that we 
can be virtuous, that is, perforin actions from strictly 
disinterested motives, quite independently of every 
instinct and desire of our animal nature, nay, often to 
its detriment. Moral motives lead directly to Virtue; 
Physical maxims tend only to promote our earthly 
Hajipiness. But, in order to be truly accept?*ble to our 
Maker, when summoned to the awful presence, we must 
be thoroughly conscious, on all occasions, of having 
restricted the desires of Sense, and submitted them 
to the all-commanding laws of Reason. By thus 
securing the supremacy of Reason over Sense, we 
fulfil the commandments " Revealed" to us by our 
Saviour, and fit ourselves for that kingdom prepared 
for us before all worlds, and in this manner prove 
ourselves to be the scope of creation. 

After the very elaborate analysis that has been here 
bestowed on the reasoning faculty of man, it would 



PREFACE. 105 

indeed move our wonder to be told that Reason does 
not exist. And it would still more surprise and astonish 
us to be informed that this sublime faculty, with all its 
divine capabilities — extending even to the salvation of 
the soul, and its preparation to inhabit its own celestial 
abode — could have been the effect of chance, or, what 
would be even much more absurd, to learn that it made 
itself, and consequently needed no Author !- — No ! facts 
speak too powerfully and too plainly in contradiction 
of these nugatory assumptions, and compel us with 
heart and soul to come forward in defence of the 
sublime truth, that " There is a God !" — who is the 
acknowledged Author of the purely spiritual and eternal 
faculty — Reason. How can we sufficiently pour forth 
our gratitude to u Omnipotence," for the innumerable 
benefits he showers down upon his creatures here below, 
and for the magnitude of that overwhelming reward 
which is promised in the " Scriptures" by our Saviour 
to those who do the will of their Father in heaven ! 
With what avidity does the Reason of man devour the 
divine truths of the Gospel, as soon as they are exhibited 
in all their simple and celestial purity, and for ever 
separated from the Historical records which first 
gave them entrance into the Mind ! How sublimely 



106 PREFACE. 

grand and inconceivably beautiful and soothing is the 
Doctrine of Christ when he says : — "I am come as a 
light to the worlds not to judge but to save it ; and he 
who believes in me does not in fact believe in me, but 
in Him that sent me. He that neglects my Doctrine 
has that in him, o Xoyo$ — Reason — which shall judge 
him in the last day. The doctrine I teach is not from 
myself, but is the commandment of my Father in heaven, 
and leads to Eternal Life . ' ' What a flood of light bursts 
forth upon the matchless truth contained in the forcible 
words of the beloved disciple, when he sings this hymn 
in praise of his crucified " Redeemer," as unlocked by 
the key of Science ! — " In the beginning was Reason, 
and Reason was with God, and Reason was God, and 
Reason was made flesh, and dwelt among us in all the 
glory of the Father ! " 

Well, then, may we say that the production is worthy 
of its Author, and that the God who made Reason 
must not only be eminently rational but possess a 
Reason that mocks every effort of words to declare its 
inexhaustible fulness, which can only compare with its 
own infinite and Divine Essence. Every attempt of 
man to compare the finite with the infinite must not 
only prove vain, but tend to show in the plainest 



PREFACE. 107 

manner his own insignificance in the scale of Creation. 
The joyous certainty that the God of Reason is 
u Revealed" to us by his only- begotten Son, Jesus 
Christ, is quite overpowering to our limited faculties ; 
and we owe an immense debt of gratitude to the Saviour 
for having taken upon himself the Redemption of the 
world; expounded to us the commayidments of his 
Father's will, and finally invited us to become par- 
takers of God's "Eternal Kingdom" where the good 
spirits revel in everlasting bliss, and the bad are con- 
signed to never-ending torments. 

That Science should at length be entrusted with the 
key that unlocks these endless treasures is a happiness 
almost too great for mortals to contemplate ; and yet, 
at the same time, it is a full assurance of the gradual 
advancement of enlightenment, and a good earnest of 
the further display of the prodigious wonders that still 
He concealed in the human mind, only waiting the 
steady flow of time to be fully developed. So that we 
may confidently look forward — not to the destruction 
of the world by fire — but to such an amelioration of 
the condition of man as may afford a faint gleam of 
the realization of the "Kingdom of Heaven" upon 
earth. 



108 PREFACE. 

We shall now have no difficulty in displaying the 
Deity in His three relations, so beautifully and expres- 
sively set forth in the " Scriptures" under the impressive 
words of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, these three 
persons constituting the Godhead 5 so that in all things 
there is a "Trinity in Unity" and a "Unity in 
Trinity" to constitute the Divine Essence, which, 
being a Moral Essence, that is, Reason, can only 
subsist in three distinct persons — neither more nor 
less — making one only true God ! 

We may now proceed to apply the Triune Principle 
in all its multiform ramifications, from that inconceivably 
small speck, the mathematical point, where it exists 
in all the fulness of perfection, to the utmost stretch 
of the vast immensity of the boundless universe \ and 
even then, leaving all these Jinites, it leaps into the 
fathomless depths of absolute infinitude, and there, 
blazing forth in never-fading completeness and sub- 
limity, it settles and centres in that ineffable Being, the 
Author of all, where its everlasting majesty and beauty 
shall never suffer diminution ! — in God ! 

Our attention is also impressively and deeply called to 
the consideration of the three distinct though inseparable 
states of the Divine Essence : 1, the Suhsistive ; 2, the 



PREFACE. 109 

Operative ; and, 3, the Relative, none of which can be 
conceived to exist apart ; and which conjointly consti- 
tute the Deity. 

In the subsistive state of the Divine Essence the 
triune principle shines forth with transcendent lustre. 
How could this Divine Essence exist if it did not 
consist of all its parts ! The analysis of the celebrated 
axiom of Euclid, as already discussed, shows that all 
possible parts are reducible to three, neither more nor 
less ; and parts themselves are only possible by virtue 
of the triune principle. Assume a thing — it must have 
parts, or it is no thing. Now, the least number of 
parts that can be united is two ; but, unless these 
are connected, it does not constitute one thing ; ovto$, 
srspos, (rvvexys. The first part proceeds to the second, 
and these are consummated in the third, and thus consti- 
tute one essence. In order to obtain the number tivo, 
the whole essence of Unity must proceed to the second 
principle, Multitude, and be repeated ; but two ones are 
more than unity, yet they will ever remain detached, or 
separate ones, until they are connected into a whole by 
the third principle, Totality, which adds no additional 
one, but only connects those already extant, and thus 
makes one part communicate with the other in such a 



110 PREFACE. 

manner as to consummate their perfection and complete- 
ness. Annul the triune principle, and you destroy every 
thing. 

GOD, therefore, exists only in his TRIUNE ESSENCE. 

The operative state of the Divine Essence appears, on 
a casual view, to be very prolific in displaying the 
triune principle : more particularly having caused a 
production, this secures its actual existence ; the mind 
being fully aware that, as there is a work, there must 
have been an author — ex nihilo nihil Jit. But the 
specious notion of an Operative Deity is a complete 
nonentity, unless the triune principle is fully established 
in the subsisting cause that produced the effect, or it 
would be an effect without a cause, an absolute impos- 
sibility. As the axiom of existence formed the foundation 
and explanation of the first state of the Divine Essence, 
so, in the present instance, the axiom of causality, as 
already discussed, will explain, and solve for ever, the 
operative state of the Deity, which must proceed from 
the first member, as cause, wholly and entirely to the 
second member, the effect ; yet nothing is effected until 
the third member — communication — which adds nothing 
to these two members, blends and unites them into 
one entire and complete principle, consisting of three 



PREFACE. Ill 

elements, oOroj, erspog, <jwzyr\$. Now, as this principle 
inhabits Eternity, there can be no priority among its 
members, only a certain order, which entirely consum- 
mates and completes the principle of causality. As, 
however, the sensible effects — from which we derive our 
language — are in Time, this cannot be the case. Here, 
each member, not being a principle but an object, must 
have a distinct and separate existence. The object called 
cause must always precede the object termed effect, 
which must always be consequent — for instance — the 
hammer and the nail — the watchmaker and the watch. 
Yet, not until a ratification and manifestation that these 
two objects are in intimate communication, then, and 
not till then, are these two objects of nature considered 
as members of the eternal and immutable principle of 
causality. This is only a further confirmation of the 
truth, that without the triune principle there can be 
neither Creator, Creation, nor Relation between them, 
consequently, no God ! — which is impossible. 

GOD, therefore, exists only in his TRIUNE ESSENCE. 

The relative state of the Divine Essence adds nothing 
whatever to the other two principles, which we have 
already considered, no augmentation to the subsistive 



112 PREFACE. 

and operative states of the Deity ; and yet it is so 
essential an ingredient in the compound of the triune 
'principle that, unless the procession from the first to 
the second principle is acknowledged in the third, by a 
complete communication between the other two, neither 
of them can be a principle. But the moment the mutual 
and reciprocal re-action takes place between them, the 
principle of three elements, olros, erspog, (rvvsyr^, is 
consummated, witnessed, and acknowledged, in the 
third. In the things of Sense, which always imply 
Time, this principle manifests itself in a similar manner. 
It does not require the introduction of any new object] 
but merely to display the relation that exists between 
any two objects that are in contact. This is usually 
expressed in material nature, by the term action and 
re-action. Here the objects must be simultaneous, 
and the relation between them mutual, reciprocal, and 
equal. Even the smallest atom, nay, the very minutest 
particle of the most volatile odour that affects the 
olfactory nerve, contains the whole and entire essence 
of the triune principle, in all its consummate and perfect 
completeness, in the same degree as it is evinced 
throughout the whole creation, or it could not be a 
principle. That this third state adds nothing to the 



PREFACE. 113 

other two is beautifully exemplified in the very act of 
thinking, which actually requires three thoughts to 
constitute one. Suppose we think of any object- — a 
tree, for instance. This act is not possible without 
involving three thoughts. First, that of the thinking 
being, then that of the object ; but these two thoughts 
would for ever remain apart and be useless, if they 
were not connected by the act of consciousness which 
links them together ; and we then say — I see a tree. 
Thus, every object of nature evinces that this third 
principle is merely a relation that subsists between every 
two objects of nature — as Father and Son — Brother 
and Sister — and whatever contradicts this principle is 
impossible, nay, totally inconceivable. This third state, 
or principle of Relation, is therefore the climax of the 
absolute proof of the apodictical necessity of the triune 
principle ; and, without this third link in the chain of 
reasoning, neither the first nor the second could at all 
be conceived. Yet, being a principle ', it must be as 
complete and perfect in the first, though useless, and 
then proceed to the second state, where it is equally 
void of sense, until it is consummated, completed, and 
finally acknowledged, by the thorough communication 
that exists between these two, in an indispensable 



114 PREFACE. 

relation that manifests and acknowledges them both in 
this unavoidable connexion, which alone enables us to 
constitute one. Now, then, we have shown beyond 
the power of refutation, and in the full assurance of 
immutable truth, that the Divine Essence can only 
subsist in the triune principle, and without this principle 
all thinking and all existence is annihilated. 

GOD, therefore, is a TRINITY IN UNITY. 

" So that in all things a Trinity in Unity and a 
Unity in Trinity is to be worshipped : — and yet there 
are not three Gods, but one God !" 

<&u tl)e %\)xtz floli) $entons", 

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST. 

One effort more, and our task is accomplished. Having 
now established the triune principle, as constituting the 
very essence of Deity, by arguments which command the 
universal assent of all rational beings, in which the circle 
of reasoning, like the circle in nature, is shut up and 
closed within itself, never again to be opened without 
consequent annihilation, we may proceed to another 
very important part of the Doctrine of our Saviour — 
the personification of these primitive principles. By 



PREFACE. 115 

what possible effort could we converse about things 
unseen, were it not for the language derived from Sense, 
or the visible objects of nature, being applied to those 
of Reason in all their spirituality ! This happy in- 
vention affords us the same facility in designating the 
operations of Reason that we possess with respect to 
the objects of Sense, and enables us to apply all the 
divine attributes to the Author of Reason, perfectly 
free from any sensible reference. Thus, when we say 
that God is a just and upright judge, yet he is a 
merciful and benignant Deity, or he would not forgive 
us our sins — this language is all derived from sensible 
images — -as seeing a kind and just father remit the 
merited punishment of his child. Very little reflection 
will convince us that there is no other possible way of 
talking about spirits but that of personifying them. 
The best proof of this fact is that nothing else can be 
personified : for, the objects of nature being already 
concrete, it would be needless, not to say impossible, 
to personify them — unless, indeed, poetically — that 
is to say, fictitiously. The objects of Nature present 
themselves to Sense clothed with all their properties — 
as a tree, a horse, and so on — in all their completeness. 
The productions of Reason, on the other hand, being 



116 PREFACE. 

absolutely invisible and impalpable, yet as certain as 
the facts of Sense, though they can only be designated 
by sensible language, with the restriction, however, 
that it merely applies to them in their spirituality, are 
the only objects susceptible of personification. 

The sublimity of our Saviour's language, in calling 
the Author of Reason the Holy Father, the koyoj, 
the reason; the production, the Holy Son; and the 
spirit of communication and relation between Father 
and Son, the Holy Spirit, is most forcible and im- 
pressive. In fact, the very term Person implies a 
spiritual, intellectual, and thinking, being endowed 
with Reason, which makes him accountable for his 
conduct, and commands him to regulate the motives of 
his actions in conformity with the principles of the 
Moral Law, which emanates from his own Reason. 
We are so accustomed to the process of personifying 
powers and principles, that we refer every thing in 
nature to a first principle, which we personify and call 
God ! — as the Originator and Creator of all things. 
Indeed, we have no other mode of communicating our 
ideas of supersensible things than that of personifi- 
cation. Having seen the absolute necessity of this 
kind of expression for the things in Eternity, we 



PREFACE. 117 

shall have little difficulty in applying it to the three 
original and primitive principles, which constitute the 
essence of Deity, and then the vulgar error will instantly 
vanish. 

The moment a man has a son born to him, the three 
terms Father, Son, and Relation, immediately arise. 
Now this is merely an exposition of the principle of 
Causality, as far as regards Time, where each object is 
not only concrete, but stands in the mutual relation of 
both cause and effect. In the character of Father, man 
is cause of the new production, Son ; but he is also 
effect, having previously had a Father himself ; in both 
cases the unavoidable and necessary Relation is requisite 
to complete the exposition of the principle of Causality. 
Although in Time, the objects which are denominated 
cause and effect and the relation between them are not 
only concrete but evanescent, yet, in personifying the 
principle of Causality itself — which resides wholly in 
Eternity — there can be neither concretion nor priority, 
but absolute simplicity. For the three principles exist 
all at once, and are so completely dependent on each 
other, that on the destruction of the smallest part of 
any one of the three principles the whole would vanish 
for ever. 

f2 



118 PREFACE, 

The root of the evil, and the only cause why there 
has ever been any confusion, with regard to the incon- 
trovertible fact of the " Triune Essence of the 
Deity," lies entirely in the inadvertence of carrying 
our mundane explanation of the principle of Causality 
into Eternity, which is the abode of infinite and 
spiritual existences, and the only depository for perma- 
nent and immutable principles; where the notions of 
composition, concretion, or priority, are not only absurd, 
but wholly destructive, and must be superseded by the 
more rational notions of simplicity, necessity, and order. 
But our Saviour, in his divine exposition of the 
" Triune Principle " and its personification, has for 
ever prevented the possibility of false reasoning, by 
beautifully adding the deeply impressive word, Holy. 
Thus, the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy 
Ghost, which three personified principles wholly and 
entirely constitute the very essence of that Perfect, 
Infinite, and Eternal Being, whom we denominate 
Creator or God ! It seems to be superfluous to explain 
the importance of the term holy ; but, when we reflect 
that disputes on this subject have prevailed for nearly 
two thousand years — and we now propose to terminate 
them for ever — we shall be excused for being prolix. 



PREFACE. 119 

We dare not apply the divine epithet holy to any object 
of Sense; but it must be exclusively consecrated to 
the sole purpose of expressing the sanctity and purity 
of spiritual existences, which are always productions of 
Reason. 

We have already shown that spiritual and holy beings 
can alone exist in Eternity; while the corruptible 
and mutable objects of nature are inhabitants of Time. 
The language of the world to come is only permitted 
in this probationary state to increase our yearning 
desire and pious longing to become partakers of that 
kingdom prepared for us before all worlds, so faithfully 
promised in the Gospel, and so absolutely confirmed by 
Practical Reason; for which purpose alone it was 
created. The ideals, therefore, which Reason allows 
to float about in the atmosphere of this nether world 
are additional inducements to urge our zeal and promote 
our aspirations for the world to come. Practical 
Reason assures us that u as man renders himself worthy 
of happiness, so it shall he meted to him." The only 
preparation for this blissful state is the perfect accord- 
ance of the motives which induce our actions with the 
Moral Law; and this is holiness. But, as holiness 
cannot be completely attained by finite beings, Pure 



120 PREFACE. 

Practical Reason necessarily extends our existence 
to another life - — to Eternity — in order to fulfil the 
promises held out by this faculty; to doubt which 
would be to doubt our own existence. 

The distinction between persons and things cannot 
be too clearly pointed out. The former can only be 
conceived by means of personification, while the latter 
are ever met with enveloped in all their properties. 
Thus it will be evident that the department of Reason 
is that alone which admits of divine and holy epithets, 
as the only language capable of giving any idea of the 
sublime and exalted nature of pure, spiritual existences. 
The region of Eternity is the only abode for the 
spirits of the just, who, released from their tenements 
of clay, and freed from all anxieties regarding the flesh, 
are received into that pure, holy, and sanctified, society, 
where every one acts up to his exalted character of pure 
goodness, and where God himself presides. How can 
we even attempt to give utterance to the ideas of our 
Reason, without having recourse to personification ! In 
the domain of nature, or the empire of Time, every 
thing is valued merely for its utility, as serving to pro- 
mote some other end : this whole procedure is effected 
by " Sensation," which presents the objects of nature 



PREFACE. 



121 



in their concrete, material, and evanescent, state. The 
subjoined table will render this view of the subject still 
more conspicuous. 

MAN 



REASON 

originates 

its Laws, 

which are 



SENSE 
receives 

the Impressions, 

which are 



PRINCIPLES, SENSATIONS, 

Compounds of three Principles, Compounds of three Sensations, 

Maker -f- Soul + Relation = God, Matter -f Form -f Connexion = Object, 
constitute constitute 



PERSONS, 



THINGS, 



Who are ends in themselves, or absolute Which are ends for something else, or 
things, perfectly pure, spiritual, and im- conditioned, concrete, material, contin 
mutable, and are in gent, evanescent, and are in 



ETERNITY. 



TIME. 



After such an elaborate exposition of the personifica- 
tion of the three primitive and constituent principles 
of the Godhead, it does indeed appear almost incredible 
that these arguments should fail to convince. Yet so 
perverse is human nature that, when once a deep-rooted 
prejudice has taken possession of the mind, it clings to 
it with such pertinacity, that nothing short of the 
dissolution of the entire generation can eradicate it. 



122 PREFACE. 

A striking instance of this truth occurred to myself, when 
a really conscientious and excellent man had repeatedly 
attended to a full explanation of all the preceding 
arguments, and admitted them to be irrefragable ; yet, 
when they trenched upon the Triune Essence of the 
Divinity, every thing in the shape of application to the 
Deity by way oi personification became totally inadmis- 
sible, and the whole train of reasoning was rebutted by 
this observation : " All your principles, as far as regards 
nature, are indisputably true \ but, until you can prove 
to my satisfaction that 

C Tom Jones, ") 
Three Persons < Harry Piper, > are ONE Person, 
L Jack Straw, ) 

I never can be convinced that three Gods are One God ! " 
This is a sad perversion of the 'personification of 
principle, and a lamentable proof of the inveteracy of 
prejudice. I further added that the demand was so 
gross an absurdity, that none but a madman would 
propose it — nor, indeed, was such an inconsistency 
ever attempted to be taught in the "Scriptures." — For 
Christ says : "The Doctrine I teach is not from myself, 
but from my Father, who is in heaven ; and it came 
from him to me, his Son, who now manifest it to you 
on earth." 



PREFACE. 123 

When we apply the epithet, Father, to our own 
parent, we merely imply that he is the Author of a 
being in some respects similar to himself. And, in 
applying the same expression to the Author of the 
ivord, the Xoyog, or Reason, we only personify a power, 
and indicate that this power has made a Being in his 
own likeness, which personification generates the fol- 
lowing 



HOLY TRINITY. 



God the Father . . . 
God the Son . . . . 
God the Holy Ghost 



The Supreme Reason. 
The Reason Incarnate. 
The Spirit of Communion. 



Can any thing be more rational than this exposition 
of the sublime primitive, permanent, and necessary, 
Principle of the Divine Essence ! How consoling and 
satisfactory to find that the most profound investigation 
of the Rational Faculty really furnishes results in such 
perfect harmony with the " Holy Gospel,'* that to 
doubt the one would be to give up the other ! So that 
.if we are real " Christians," we may exclaim, in con- 
viction of the perfect truth of that divine doctrine 
preached by Jesus — u that God is in us, and we are 
in him." Under the influence of such a conviction, the 
highest motive that can actuate man is " reverence for 
the sanctity and purity of the Moral Law," which is 

f5 



124 PREFACE. 

implanted in his Reason, and which forms the direct 
communication between man and his Maker ; and 
absolute obedience to this Law actually admits us into 
the holy fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ ; through 
whose mediation we are earnestly invited to deposit our 
souls, amended by this sacred course, in that blissful, 
exalted, and ever-during abode, Heaven ! 

We hope we have now accomplished our task, and 
proved the Divinity of Christ, the Rationality of the Atha- 
nasian Creed, and the truth of the " Holy Trinity/' 
not only to the entire conviction of the Infidel, the Jew, 
the Gentile, and the Unitarian, but to the absolute 
conviction of every being endowed with Reason. The 
term Unitarian seems to imply one who objects to the 
Triune Essence of the Deity, as being both incompre- 
hensible and absurd. But surely, if the arguments here 
adduced in support and confirmation of this divine 
doctrine are duly and attentively weighed, such a sect 
can no longer exist. Then this great and glorious good 
results : that " Christians" will in future have one firm 
and indissoluble bond of union — that they all worship 
"One God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity." 

I am eternally bound to the reviewers of my work, 
for affording me this opportunity of enlarging on the 



PREFACE. 125 

arguments of the Introduction to the first edition. 
Having fully felt the force of the reasoning which 
produced the results there stated, and to which these 
leading steps will be found to conduct, I had considered 
that they would have been generally comprehensible ; 
but the kind hints of these critics have determined me 
to go the present length in showing the foundation on 
which they have been progressively raised in support of 
the Divarication of the " Scriptures" into Doctrine 
and History, the solution of the supposed mystery of 
the " Holy Trinity," and the personification of the 
three " Holy Persons" of the Godhead; which will, I 
presume, be perfectly satisfactory to the reflecting 
mind. Yet, should any doubt as to the legitimacy and 
accuracy of first principles, from which all the subse- 
quent reasoning flows, still remain in the mind of the 
most sceptical critic that ever entered the lists, I have 
great satisfaction in assuring him — to borrowan expres- 
sion from another science — that I am so charged with 
proofs for the support of the principles advanced, that 
let the doubter only come within the sphere of the 
influence of my Jar, and he shall receive such a shock 
as will, for ever, discharge all his doubts. 

After what has preceded, it would be as absurd to 
expunge that most perfect, rational, and complete, ex- 



126 PREFACE. 

position of the Triune God, the " Athanasian Creed," 
from our Liturgy, as it would be impossible to nullify 
the Omnipotent and Eternal Being, or to deprive him of 
his Triune Essence. We must ever bear in mind that 
oneness is noneness : and this fact is the foundation of 
that ever -memorable 

AXIOM. 
The root of ONE is three. 

Whoever admits that his progenitor was his Father, 
excludes, for ever, Atheism, and allows the personifica- 
tion of the Deity as the only possible mode of conversing 
about Spirits. Who can free himself from this acknow- 
ledgment ! The curious searcher into the records of 
man's advances in enlightenment will be able to trace a 
high veneration for the number three among all mankind, 
and in all religions \ as well as a never-ceasing effort to 
unite these three into a mystical one, as far back as the 
flood. Traces are even now to be witnessed of the 
gigantic Tri?nurti, or the three-formed God of the 
Hindoos — Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva — whose colossal 
figure is still to be seen carved in the solid rock, which 
constituted a Temple of their worship, in the Island of 
Elephanta. The Theologian will also confirm the truth 
of this statement, by proving that a Trinity in Unity 



PREFACE. 127 

is revealed throughout the whole of the " Sacred 
Volume/' in one uniform, continued course, from the 
beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelations. In the 
Old Testament, the following Hebrew words imply this 
Holy union of Persons, which is designated in the New 
Testament by the subjoined Greek words : 

OLD TESTAMENT. NEW TESTAMENT. 

DTfrtf • • • • God - 0£ ^ • ••• God. . . Uarrjp . . Father. 

""Q"T • • • • Word. Aoyog . . . Word. . . 'Yibg. . . . Son. 

T T 

^1 .... Spirit. Tlvev/xa . . Spirit. . . Uvevfia . . Spirit. 

The happy circumstance of personification enables 
us to embody things which never can he seen, so that 
we can converse as freely and as certainly on the 
peculiar properties of Spirits, which are productions of 
Reason, as we do at present on the peculiarities of the 
material objects of nature, which are productions of 
Sense. All the objects of Reason are necessarily 
principles, having neither beginning, middle, nor end, 
and can, therefore, reside only in Eternity. These 
objects are results of Syllogism, which is itself spiritual 
or mental. The objects of Sense, on the other hand, 
must of necessity be material, and consequently be 
facts, which not only address the senses, have a begin- 
ning, middle, and end, but could not have existence 



128 PREFACE. 

without a passive faculty to receive their impressions, 
and can exist only in Time. There can be neither more 
nor less than three persons in the Divine Essence ; both 
Reason and Revelation happily unite in one harmo- 
nious conclusion, fully and perfectly establishing the 
sublime doctrine of the "Holy, Blessed, and Glorious 
Trinity 3" and the whole stands or falls together. 
Where the essence and perfections are the very*same, 
no inequality can be found. The triune principle is as 
apparent in every act of creation as in the Creator 
himself — one undivided and simple essence. We trust 
we have so firmly established this triune princijile, that 
no efforts of criticism, no influence of prejudice, can 
possibly shake this full and perfect proof of the Unity 
and Plurality of the Godhead as personified by our 
Saviour. We feel confident, therefore, that the Church 
will not discard this essential and fundamental truth ; 
but, on the contrary, will adhere to this sublime doctrine 
to the end of Time, seeing that it exists in all its perfec- 
tion in Eternity. This great and important revelation 
must either be true or not true. Now, if it is true, it 
must at the same time be rational, or something is true 
which is irrational, or, in other words, totally unac- 
countable, which is impossible. If the Divine Being 



PREFACE. 120 

subsists only in one mode or manner, his divine intelli- 
gence can be exerted only in one way ; then he cannot 
be omnipotent ; but, if we allow that he subsists in 
three distinct, not separate, modes, which constitute 
the three Divine persons, then the Deity may be easily 
conceived as the Creator, Preserver, and Ruler, of 
the physical world, and at the same time, by virtue 
of his Perfect, Infinite, and Sternal, attributes, 
Sovereign of the entire Kingdom of Spirits, or Supreme 
in the Moral World ! Nor does this view of the Divine 
Essence in the least violate the pure idea of the Indi- 
viduality, Reality, and Necessity, of that adorable 
and ineffable First Cause ; but on the contrary firmly 
establishes the truth of that solemn and impressive 
doctrine — a Blessed "Trinity in Unity." 

Vast and important, indeed, will be the benefits 
resulting from the happy solution of a mystery which 
has defied ages to bring it to a conclusion. In future, 
speculative points in Religion will be brought to the 
bar of Reason for decision, instead of being contested 
by the edge of the sword. If the preceding reasoning 
proves to be not only correct, but likewise so apparent 
that future ages will only live to approve and confirm ; 
then, indeed, have we established this vital principle of 



130 PREFACE. 

Christ's doctrine, not merely with reference to the 
inhabitants of our own globe — a comparative speck in 
the vast ocean of space — but proved, to the con- 
viction of Reason, that, should the countless number 
of floating worlds, the centres of whose systems we are 
at present only allowed to see, be blessed with rational 
inhabitants — these — all these — and all other beings 
endowed with Reason — nay, Angels themselves — 
must bow to the Triune Essence of that Deity, who 
gave his only begotten Son to suffer for our salvation, 
and who now sits on the right hand of his Father — 
Almighty God — " whence he shall come to judge the 
quick and the dead, and they shall all give account of 
their own works." Thus do we establish for ever, and 
for all worlds, the everlasting glory of God, through 
the mediation of his Son, Jesus Christ, our blessed 
P.edeemer. 

^n tfye Crtunc principle, 

AS CONSTITUTING THE 

ESSENCE OF THE HUMAN MIND, 

evinced in its three primitive faculties, 
SENSE, UNDERSTANDING, REASON. 

We propose, now, to redeem our pledge of proving 
that the elements which form the notion of a Triune 



PREFACE, 131 

Essence are coeval with the Human Mind, and actually 
constitute its very essence ; and that consequently the 
entire procedure regarding the Holy Trinity will turn 
out as we predicted — -merely a verbal dispute. Fortu- 
nately for humanity, our erroneous theories do not in 
the least alter either principles or facts, as they are 
originally created by the Almighty \ or our insignificant 
globe would have long found itself the solid centre of 
entire creation. Providence had so ordained it, that 
Copernicus should startle us on this physical point, 
and suddenly whirl us about with incredible velocity; 
turning every thing topsyturvy, alarming the prejudices 
of all the inhabitants of the earth, and endangering 
his own safety. Indeed, so inveterate were the pious 
servants of God on that occasion, that, had his life been 
prolonged, the Vicegerent of Christ would have placed 
this honest and sincere astronomer in the bonds of the 
Inquisition, to endure Earthly torture for the discovery 
of this Heavenly truth, which has made a complete 
revolution in science. 

The progress of enlightenment has since precluded 
the repetition of such barbarous proceedings, with a 
view to promote the service of God. How much better 
to enlighten the mind generally, and thus make m<in 



132 PREFACE. 

intimately acquainted with himself ; or in the words of 
the poet : 

That virtue only makes our bliss below, 
And all our knowledge is ourselves to know. 

We should then find that the confusion in our mode 
of viewing either principles or facts is the result of our 
own misunderstanding, which we ignorantly transfer 
to the objects. Perhaps the boldness of the attempt to 
discover in the " Sacred Volume" both the Word of 
God and the Word of Man maybe equally stigmatized, 
and its author visited with indignities, as the traducer 
of the only true "Religion," instead of its firmest 
champion. Be this as it may, neither rack nor torture 
can rob him of the purity of the motive ; and he will 
find his reward, if not among men, most certainly where 
his heavenly Father has promised, in heaven among 
angels. 

We have proved, to the conviction of enlightened 
Reason, that the Divine Mind must necessarily consist 
of three perfectly pure, simple principles united in one ; 
or else there is no such thing — which is impossible ! 
Let us see with what success we can now display the 
Human Mind, as really consisting of the self- same 
Triune Principle. 



PREFACE. 133 

Nature can only be produced, as we have already 
shown, by means of Sensation ; consequently, Sen- 
sation arises from the impressions made upon the 
Senses by objects distinct from the mind, and must 
always be accompanied with consciousness. Hence, 
Sensation implies an alteration in our state. Suppose, 
for instance, a placid lake, into which a stone is thrown 
— this instantly alters its state, producing concentric 
rings on its surface, and may well represent Sensation. 
It is quite clear that Sensation can exist only in the 
Sentient Being. Therefore, all material objects devoid 
of Sensation are not conscious of nature. In this first 
and primitive act, by which all nature is produced, the 
Triune Principle is apparent. First, there must be a 
mind to receive the impression, which requires an object 
distinct from the mind, as its cause. Consequently, 
the very word Sensation involves necessarily three 
elements, thus : 

Mind -f- Object -f- Impression = Sensation. 

It must be equally clear that in order to receive 
impressions we must be passive ; but to acknowledge 
their presence requires activity ; and these two states 
in connexion constitute the mind — another necessary 
Trinity in Unity. Some Sensations are extended, and 



134 PREFACE. 

others are successive ; but, as neither of these can exist 
apart, they generate another Triad. We are accustomed 
to apply the term Space to our extended Sensations, 
and the wordTjME to express our successive Sensations. 
All, therefore, that we can possibly know of nature is 
necessarily comprehended under the two prominent 
Laws of the Mind, TIME and SPACE. To construct a 
Trinity out of these two elements appears at first sight 
to be somewhat difficult ; yet the solution is very easy. 
Thus it is : every part of Time is divisible, or it ceases 
to be Time ; consequently, its first element must con- 
sist of two parts and connexion. The same observation 
applies to Space. The truth of both these positions 
has long been confirmed by the pure sciences. Thus, 
then, we have shown that, individually, Time and Space 
are Triads. Let us now make Time and Space prove 
the new doctrine. Here it is : in order to connect two 
parts of Space, Time is requisite. But Time, which 
is a continuous flow of parts, cannot even be conceived 
without a permanent in Space from which to measure 
the lapse of Time. Therefore, to destroy the one is to 
annihilate the other : hence — 

Time -f- Space -J- Connexion = Sense. 

The Human Mind, therefore, possesses a Receiving 



PREFACE. 135 

Faculty, in order to receive impressions from objects 
distinct from itself. But the mere power of Receiving 
is not even conceivable without a determinate mode 
or form of receiving, and this particular mode or form 
opposed to another. From what has preceded, it is 
evident that the mind receives Sensations in two ways, 
the one directly opposed to the other — sensations in 
extension, sensations in succession. But, if these Sensa- 
tions did not consist of parts, they could not exist at 
all. We have shown that these parts must be connected, 
and then they conform to the Triune Principle. 
This procedure may be familiarly illustrated by as- 
suming water as a genus, and its two opposite states, 
motion and rest, as species : thus : 
WATER. 




It is quite evident that if we take away the genus — 
water — the two Species are both destroyed. We need 
not be told that we can have neither pond nor river 



136 PREFACE. 

without water. We may also remark that, by arresting 
the progress of the river, we convert it into a pond ; 
and by making the pond flow we produce a river, each, 
however, depending on its parent element, Water. 

Now, if we substitute for the term water the element 
parts, we shall find that these parts are not conceivable 
till we have given them a for?n or mode of existence ; 
and what other form can we give them than that which 
they receive on entering the channels of the Human 
Mind — the Senses ! Thus the touch and the sight 
impress their law on the Sensation, extension; and 
we say we have an extended Sensation, that is, one 
whose parts coexist : the hearing, the taste, and the 
smell, impress all the Sensations which pass through 
those channels with their peculiar law, succession ; and 
we say we have a successive Sensation. These problems 
have long been solved, and their principle deposited in 
the archives of the Physical Sciences. By these laws 
we are enabled to distinguish the Drum from the 
Sound which it produces, though they are both only 
Sensations existing in the Sentient Being. So that 
what is in me is the Sensation ; but the Cause of the 
Sensation is out of me, and distinct from my mind, 
never can be Sensation, and therefore never can be 



PREFACE. 137 

known by man. Hence, Sensations are not possible 
without real objects existing quite distinctly from the 
Sentient Being. No Sensations are possible till the 
impressions have reached the two receptacles, TIME 
and SPACE, wherein all Sensations must be deposited 
and acknowledged to be received. The originating 
Cause of the Sensation never enters Time, but always 
remains in Eternity, and therefore cannot be known 
by man. 

By substituting for the term water the element, 
parts, as we have suggested, we obtain strict and 
accurate definitions of these two Mental Laws, TIME 
and SPACE. Thus, making the genus parts instead 
of water, we find that they cannot even be conceived 
without diform or mode of existence \ and we are equally 
certain that there are no other forms or modes than 
motion and rest. Therefore, having parts either in 
motion or rest — for in in the genus there can be neither 
— we obtain the following triad : 
PARTS. 

f ' ' \ 

FLOW. STAGNATION. 

MOTION. REST. 



TIME. 



SPACE. 



138 PREFACE. 

If the succession of parts — which constitutes Time, 
and which presents only a single point to the mind, 
though it strictly conforms to the Triune Principle, 
being conceivable only under the triad — Present, Past, 
and Future — were to forego its own law for one instant, 
and present tiuo points at once to the mind, it would 
cease to be TIME and become SPACE, which only 
differs from Time in having all its parts coexistent, 
or in extension instead of in succession. These two 
laws of Sense are so essential to the mind, that without 
them there could be no knowledge whatever. How could 
we possibly have Sensations without the capability of 
receiving them ! It is the very nature and essence of 
the Sensitive Faculty to impress every object that affects 
us with both Extension and Succession. Nothing, 
therefore, can enter SPACE without partaking of its 
properties, that is, having coexisting parts, in strict 
connexion ; and nothing can enter TIME without having 
successive parts. So that the matter of all knowledge 
is Sensation received in TIME and SPACE, which are 
the constituent elements of Sense, and, consequently, 
the forms, or modes, in which the mind receives Sen- 
sation. That the triune principle necessarily forms 
the foundation of Sense is now demonstrated, and the 



PREFACE. 139 



ofoos, erepo$ 9 o-uvs;^, is as apparent here as in the most 
simple axiom of Geometry. The subjoined table will 
render this reasoning still more convincing ; thus : 



SENSE. 

2 receptivities, 



TIME 



SPACE 



contains the Sensations impressed on the contains the Sensations impressed on the 

mind, which exhibit constant clmnge, mind, which exhibit permanent coexistence, 

and is and is 

the Law of the Law of 

INTERNAL OBJECTS. EXTERNAL OBJECTS. 

Here, then, we have established our first position — 
that the constituent elements of Sense strictly conform 
to the Triune Principle. We shall avoid much con- 
fusion in future by adopting a word that shall always 
indicate when the mind is in a state of Sensation, 
under the influence of the Triune Principle : and we 
know no word better calculated for the purpose than 
Intuition, which implies the immediate knowledge of 
things by any of the senses. At the same time, we will 
attempt a definition intended to last to the end of time: 

INTUITION, 

every thing present in 
TIME and SPACE, 

that 

we feel, see, hear, taste, or smell. 



140 PREFACE. 



UNDERSTANDING. 



All that we have at present done is to account for 
the introduction of Sensation, or the matter of know- 
ledge, into the mind, upon the triune principle. It will 
now be our purpose to show what procedure the mind 
adopts in order to fabricate this matter, and, by giving 
it a form, not only to convert it into knowledge, but at 
the same time to prove that theTitiuNE Principle forms 
the foundation of knowledge ; as is evident from the 
annexed equation : 

Matter -f- Form -|- Connexion = Knowledge. 

To receive the matter of knowledge, that is, Sensation, 
the mind must be passive; but, in order to connect 
this given matter into knowledge, activity is requisite. 
The faculty which performs this office is quite dis- 
tinct from Sense ; it is wholly active, and is called the 
Intellect or Understanding. It connects the Sensations 
into objects, or the given variety into a unity. Let us 
see how this connexion or uniting is performed. It is 
quite clear that no uniting whatever can take place, 
unless under the Triune Principle. For here two 
parts must be given, and this faculty must actually 
connect them, which is the only way to produce a unity. 



PREFACE. 141 

Here, then, our indispensable axiom is singularly con- 
spicuous — 

The root of ONE is three. 

The very simplest thought that can occupy the 
Human Mind cannot even be conceived without the aid 
of this all-pervading principle of a Trinity in Unity, 
which enters into every thought, word, and deed, as 
well as constitutes the very essence of every cogitable 
object, whether human or divine; nay, we shall see 
that every operation of this faculty is in strict con- 
formity with this universal principle of Triads. 

The Sensations received in the mind are first de- 
posited in the two mental receivers, TIME and SPACE, 
which instantly impress their peculiar forms of exten- 
sion and succession on these Sensations. The Under- 
standing then proceeds to construct objects out of this 
given matter, which it effects in the following manner. 
In order that we should be conscious of objects, it is 
imperative on us to determine the class to which they 
belong in the Triad — One, Many, All. Thus the 
mind decides on the number of objects composed out 
of the given matter ; and this procedure settles their 
Quantity. The next operation which the Under- 
standing performs is to arrange the object under the 

g2 



142 PREFACE. 

Triad — Reality, Negation, Limitation. This deter- 
mines it to be a real object, because it negates every 
thing else, and thus produces a limit to the Sensation, 
commonly called thing. This triad settles the limits 
of the object, or its Quality. The next Triad which 
the Understanding impresses upon the Sensation 
settles whether the object is a Substance, the Effect 
of a Substance, or Part of a Whole; and this de- 
termines the Relation of the Sensation to ourselves 
and to surrounding objects, under the Triad of Sub- 
stance and Accident, Cause and Effect, Action and 
Reaction. 

In this manner, the Understanding, by virtue of 
its triple triads of Quantity, Quality, and Relation, 
produces out of the given matter an intelligent object 
of nature. These natural objects — trees, rivers, moun- 
tains, animals, and so on— are compounds of Se?isation, 
amalgamated and produced by the Understanding, 
though, for want of a little more enlightenment in the 
" Philosophy of Mind," falsely considered as totally 
distinct from the Sentient Being, who alone has given 
them the forms under which they appear. The fault 
here committed is the innocent one of mistaking the 
Effect for the Cause. It is most certain that the origi- 



PREFACE. 143 

nating Cause of Sensation is distinct from the mind, 
and called in this Science, by way of distinction, nou- 
menon; while the joint Effect, or the Sensation formed 
into an object by the Understanding, is, by way of 
distinction, called phenomenon. This is the joint pro- 
duce of the Cause out of the mind and the original 
laws of the Understanding, under the influence of 
the Triune Principle. The truth of this procedure 
may be proved with the greatest ease, as well to the 
illiterate as to the most erudite intellect that ever re- 
flected on the objects of nature. On analysing any 
natural object, we never get beyond the Sensation, 
which is the matter of which the objects of nature are 
composed, conjointly with the mental form, under the 
triads we have already explained. Thus we are pro- 
ceeding with the proof of our assertion that the universal 
Triune Principle pervades the whole of nature, and 
furnishes this equation : 

Matter -j- Form -f- Connexion = Nature. 

The mental procedure already explained may well be 
termed the Constitutive use of Understanding ; because, 
without given matter and produced form, nature, as we 
apprehend it, could not exist. There is, however, still 



144 PREFACE. 

another triad, which determines our view of considering* 
nature, under the head Modality; and this is the 
Triad of Possibility, Existence, Necessity. When an 
object of nature is beyond the reach of our ken, we are 
unable to pronounce upon it — as inhabitants in the 
moon ; but, on finding that the thought does not con- 
tradict any of the mental laws, we must grant it to be 
Possible. Whoever peruses these pages will have no 
hesitation in saying that they were penned by their 
author, and that, as the book exists, its author also 
must have existed. Sufficient evidence of the second 
member of the triad — Existence. Lastly, when we 
find notions so knit together that if we take one away 
we destroy the other, we have a full and perfect notion 
of the third member of the triad — Necessity. A tri- 
angle consists of three lines — remove one, the figure 
instantly vanishes. Every object of nature must of 
necessity be ranked under one of these three classes. 
The above succinct account of a very elaborate mental 
procedure — nay, of the operation of those original and 
primitive laws which construct entire experience — • 
enables us to display this quadruple set of Triads, which 
it has pleased Almighty God to employ as instruments 



PREFACE. 145 



in the generation of nature, in a somewhat more conve- 
nient form in the subjoined table. 





UNDERSTANDING. 






12 CATEGORIES. 




QUANTITY. 


QUALITY. RELATION. 


MODALITY. 


1. Unity, 


1. Reality, 1. Substance and Accident, 


1. Possibility, 


2. Multitude, 


2. Negation, 2. ... Cause and Effect, 


2. Existence, 


3. Totality. 


3. Limitation. 3. . . . Action and Reaction. 


3 Necessity. 



The internal perfection and absolute completeness 
of these tivelve original and primitive laws of human 
intellect are sufficient evidence of the Divinity of their 
Author. No one but God could have framed so power- 
ful and yet so simple an instrument as the human 
Understanding, which, with its twelve laivs, He makes 
the unconscious author of the infinitely varied and su- 
premely beautiful pictures of nature, that fill the mind 
with extatic delight. Is it not a wonderful operation — 
one that calls forth all our puny gratitude — to find 
that the Author of Nature has employed us as essential 
manufacturers of his own Almighty works — and all 
this without our will or consent ! Yet, destroy the 
human Understanding, and nature vanishes. What 
possible object of nature can there be which has neither 
Quantity nor Quality, and does not stand in Rela- 
tion to surrounding objects ? — None ! Hence the 



146 PREFACE. 

necessity of those laivs which, unknown to man, he, 
by virtue of his mind, imprints on every Sensation that 
enters the channels of Sense. Is not, therefore, the 
term, Original use of Understanding, not only very 
happy but at the same time strictly scientific, since we 
find that this faculty actually generates every object 
that we denominate nature ! So much for the multi- 
plication of triad upon triad, as a proof of the univer- 
sality of the Triune Principle. 

As we have established, for ever, the ovtoc, hepo$, 
.crvvs^c, in the minutest operation of the human Intellect 
— even in the generation of unity, which requires two 
parts and connexion, or it is nothing — we are decidedly 
advancing with the proof of our assertion — that the 
Triune Principle is coeval with the human mind, 
since it constitutes its very essence. Here also we 
shall gain much scientific precision by establishing a 
term that shall always indicate when the mind is ex- 
erting its twelve primitive and original powers in their 
two states ; the one, when it impresses their form on 
the Sensation, which joint produce we usually and 
quite correctly denominate nature ; the other, when 
these twelve laws are abstracted entirely from the given 
Sensation, and form combinations of pure mental 



PREFACE. 147 

objects, which constitute pure science. Hence, pure 
Mathematics, Geometry, Algebra, and so on. We can 
now show the operation of this Faculty in its two very 
opposite states. Conceive a pure mathematical cube, 
which consists of six squares, connected so as to form 
a die. This mental operation is wholly devoid of Sen- 
sation, and is called pure science. To this mental frame- 
work merely add the Sensation, and we construct a 
solid, or one of the real objects of nature. The proper 
word to express this solid cube, while it addresses Sense, 
we have determined to be Intuition, always indicating 
that we are in a state of Sensation. We now want a 
term that shall always express when the mind is not in 
a state of Sensation, and yet these twelve laivs are in 
operation. Here we are fortunate indeed ; for the word 
Conception has long been dedicated — even in common 
parlance — to that operation of the mind which, under 
the twelve laws of Understanding, forms an image 
of an absent object — a friend whom we have lately 
seen — an edifice that we have once beheld. Thus we 
mentally view absent objects of former Intuitions. 

The benefit rendered to science, and consequently to 
general enlightenment, by fixing permanent definitions 
— which shall decide in all occurring cases, whether 

g5 



148 PREFACE. 

Sense and Understanding are jointly in operation or 
not, with regard to the object under contemplation — 
words can never express. This strikes at the root 
of the difficulty in entering upon the u Philosophy of 
Mind." Having imbibed the errors, mistakes, and 
prejudices, of earlier generations, they may be said to 
be, even now, in full force among us, and greatly con- 
tribute to retard the advancement of a Science that must 
ultimately eradicate every prejudice which the want of 
science has generated. Then we shall be able to reason 
with as much, nay, more, precision on the properties 
of spirits, than, with all our vast stock of science, we 
do at present on the properties of matter. With this 
view we offer the following Definition of the result of 
the second original Faculty of the mind, whose very 
essence is a series of never-ending Triads — a definition 
that we intend the lapse of Tjme itself shall confirm 
but never destroy. 

CONCEPTION, 

every thing absent in 
TIME and SPACE, 

that 
we think of only, but do not touch. 

In future, when the sound Intuition strikes the 
tympanum, or its sight impinges the retina, the mind 



PREFACE. 149 

shall be filled with as much certainty, as to what mental 
operation is going on, as it now receives, on hearing 
that the sun rises, or on beholding the glorious orb of 
day in full splendour. Every one knows the expression 
to be unscientific, and that the parent of light sits 
calmly enthroned, while his satellite produces the ap- 
pearance. Only let the same unscientific expression 
with regard to Intuition be as familiarly understood ; 
then a whole Science will blaze forth, with more cer- 
tainty than is evinced in the Copernican theory of the 
earth. Many centuries of darkness preceded this bold 
discovery. Posterity will be forced to admit that more 
dark ages of confirmed prejudice have eclipsed the 
brightest science that ever illuminated the mind of 
man. 

Intuition and Conception in joint operation, when 
the object is present, constitute nature. Yet, the pre- 
vailing opinion is, that sensible objects — trees, rivers, 
mountains, men, and so on — are objects wholly distinct, 
and produced without any mental influence. Correct 
this error — more fatal than that of the sun — and we 
possess a Science which far surpasses all sciences that 
ever were contemplated by man — one that from its 
importance must ever hold the first rank, and accord- 



150 PREFACE. 

ingly be dignified by a suitable appellation, as it is the 
" Science of Mind" itself, and may well be called 

TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 

Deny the preceding statement, and the following 
contradiction arises : that our own Sensations are out 
of ourselves — a manifest impossibility — a sensation 
out of a Sentient Being ! Or a still greater absurdity 
is entertained : that we profess to know what is out of 
the mind — by which profession we actually prove 
ourselves to be out of our mind ! — the very laboratory 
of knowledge. Oh, perverse generation ! ye know not 
what ye say or what ye do ! — ye are blinded by pre- 
judice and ignorance ! Let us pray for the grace of 
further enlightenment. Then we shall all acquiesce in 
the permanent truth , that all the objects of nature are 
the joint produce of the Mind and a Cause out of the 
mind ; that what we falsely call natural objects are only 
Intuitions, consisting of Sensations received by the 
five channels of Sense, deposited in its two receptacles, 
TIME and SPACE, and then fabricated by Under- 
standing into intelligible objects, under the influence 
of its endless Triads — producing real nature, or the 
joint effect of Intuition and Conception. 



PREFACE. 151 

It must now be evident that Intuition joined to 
Conception constitutes knowledge, which must always 
be deposited in the mental receivers, TIME and 
SPACE. Beyond this human knowledge cannot reach. 

Here, then, ends all human knowledge. 

REASON. 

Our contemplations are now withdrawn from the 
World of Sense ; and we enter upon our delightful 
task of surveying the kingdom of Spirits, where we 
hope completely to establish our proof of the Triune 
Principle, and thus confirm the assertion that the 
whole procedure with regard to the Holy Trinity will 
turn out to be merely a verbal dispute. 

We have seen that Sense and Understanding have 
constituted the entire of nature. It might well, then, 
be asked what has Reason to constitute ? Why, the 
laws by which nature is arranged, or else nature and 
its laws would be the same thing. Every object of 
nature is evanescent, while the laws which regulate 
nature are permanent — sufficient reason to show that 
the objects and their laivs occupy different stations. 
The laws originate in Speculative Reason, and the 
objects are received by Sense. So that, though the 



152 PREFACE. 

objects themselves occupy Time, the laws by which 
they are governed are in Eternity. 

The entire sphere of action of Sense and Under- 
standing is completely exhausted in the blue field of 
our Diagram. Out of the limits of TIME and SPACE 
these faculties cannot act. Yet the mind will exert 
itself on spiritual things. The question, then, naturally 
arises — Is this an illusion ? or are we justified in this 
procedure ? Yes, most certainly we are ; because we 
are provided with a faculty on purpose to construct 
spiritual objects. This faculty is Practical Reason, 
which originates the Moral Law — that law by which 
all our motives must be tried — sufficient assurance of 
our ultimate destination — of the immortality of the 
soul — a future state of rewards and punishments : 
none of which could subsist and be effective without a 
Supreme head, a Triune Deity. 

It is our duty now to show that both Speculative 
and Practical Reason act and are constructed on the 
Triune Principle. Out of the laws of Understanding, 
which are the twelve Categories, Reason — that faculty 
which elevates man above the brute, and expands the 
finite to the infinite — constructs a set of triads. We 
have already satisfactorily shown that every finite thing 



PREFACE. 153 

in nature consists of three elements united in one. The 
matter of nature is Sensation, Reason, however, 
excludes the matter of nature, and is only occupied 
with its form. Now, the forms in which nature is 
clothed are neither more nor less than these twelve 
laivs of Understanding — the Categories. But what 
can be more distinct from matter than form. Form is 
merely the manner of arranging joarfa — consequently 
only a laiv, or necessary principle, to which the parts 
must submit. Reason connects the three laws of 
Quantity — Unity, Multitude, Totality — and produces 
a unity quite distinct from nature, free from TIME and 
SPACE : thus it generates the idea of an Infinite or 
Absolute Totality, evidently constructed in conformity 
with the Triune Principle. The same process repeated 
with the three laws of Quality — Reality, Negation, 
Limitation — produces Infinite or Absolute Limitation, 
that is, the idea of restriction among Sjririts, who are 
infinite in their nature, consequently not even con- 
ceivable by finite beings. 

The three laws of Relation produce three distinct 
and very important ideas — a striking confirmation of 
the Triune Principle. A bare inspection of the Table 
of Understanding shows at once that each of the 



154 PREFACE. 

only three possible relations in nature are individually 
compounded of three elements. Reason instantly 
seizes the first of these triads, out of which it constructs 
an idea, that furnishes the key to the whole Christian 
Doctrine. The substances in nature are finite in their 
duration in Time. Reason extends this notion to the 
infinite, and thus raises the idea of the Soul, which it 
places in Eternity. If the immortality of the Soul 
could not be justified by Reason, the " Divine Revela- 
tion " of Jesus Christ could not be appreciated by man. 
It might as well be addressed to the Ass or the Elephant. 
We are, however, too well acquainted with the sublimity 
and divinity of this " Revelation" to question its truth. 
Thus, then, from the three laws of Understanding, 
or the first Category, under the head Relation — 
Substance, Accident, Connexion — being carried by 
Reason to the infinite, it raises the idea of an Absolute 
or Infinite Substance, which, as it cannot exist in Time, 
it places in Eternity. Now, according to St. Paul, 
the soul, being a spiritual substance, is and ever was 
in Eternity. This truth, being confirmed by the 
simple efforts of Reason, stamps the seal of divinity on 
that "Revelation," which points out the only road to 
salvation. May we not join with heart and hand in 



PREFACE. 155 

thankful remembrance of that Redeemer who, in ages 
long gone by, assured us of a truth which Science has at 
length unfolded — that at the present moment our soul 
inhabits the infinite region of Eternity ! Oh ! the 
overwhelming thought — the soul is immortal ! and in 
a constant state of perpetual approach to the perfection 
of Him who made it — the Almighty and Everlasting 
God ! Is this not an important idea ! 

The second Category, under the head Relation, 
consisting of the three laws of Understanding — 
Cause, Effect, Connexion — whose application in expe- 
rience is always of a limited duration and of a finite 
extentjwhen carried by Reason to the infinite? generates 
the idea of a power free from all the restrictions of 
Time, having its full force only in Eternity. This 
is the idea of a First Cause, one where every thing 
originates from itself. Surrounded as we are by natural 
objects, the least reflective mind must consider these 
objects — among which he places himself — as having 
a Cause: Speculative Reason carries this notion to 
the infinite. But, as it always bottoms on Intuition, 
this procedure is termed the light of nature. Whatever 
powers we may attribute to this First Cause, we always 
do so with a Cosmological reference. Hence arises 



156 PREFACE. 

Deism, that is, a religion proceeding as far as it can by 
the light of nature, rejecting all " Revelation" because 
it may be spurious. Out of the idea of an Absolute or 
Infinite Cause arose that once favourite system, the 
animus mundi* How worthless and unprofitable are 
the utmost results obtained by experience to establish 
Religion, when compared with the absolute purity of 
the " Divine Revelation " of our blessed Redeemer, 
through which alone we can work out our salvation. 

The third Category, under the head Relation, con- 
sists of the three laws of Understanding — Action, 
Reaction, Connexion — whose influence pervades all 
nature — nay, it is the very key-stone of nature. Abro- 
gate this law but for one instant, and the tie which 
holds together that stupendous fabric dissolves, and all 
its parts vanish into nothingness. How powerful, then, 
must be the influence of this all-pervading Triune Laic, 
since it forms the cement which holds all nature toge- 
ther ! If the universal operation of this indispensable 
law is found to be of such vast importance in the limited 
sphere of material nature, what will be our astonish- 
ment when we behold this Triune Principle freed 
from the trammels of Sense, and carried by Practical 
Reason into the infinite region of Eteruity, where its 



PREFACE. 157 

Concurrence is boundless ! What finite being dare, with 
his contracted views, attempt to form the shadow of a 
notion of the influence of such inconceivable grandeur 
as this principle displays in its fullest and most perfect 
action in the infinite " Kingdom of Spirits" under the 
guidance of the unspeakable greatness of the generator 
of all Spirits, God himself ! Rouse yourselves from 
your supineness, ye beings of Sense, and aspire to that 
"Kingdom" not only promised but prepared for you 
before all worlds, otherwise you are unworthy your high 
destination ! Let every one's conscience be awake to 
this awful appeal, or the gift of Practical Reason is 
thrown away upon you, and you sink beneath the brute, 
who is governed by Instinct. 

When this Triune Law of Understanding is ex- 
panded to the infinite by Reason, it displays the uniting 
power of the Creator both in Heaven and on Earth, 
or is the genuine ground of the idea we form of the 
Author of all things, under the three essential notions 
of Creator, Preserver, and Ruler, of Moral Beings, 
as well as Lord of every thing in Heaven and on Earth, 
and of every material thing in Time and spiritual thing 
in Eternity. Can there be a Law without a Lawgiver ! 
Then, indeed, we obtain the idea of the Supreme 



158 PREFACE. 

Lawgiver — God ! Surely this is the Omnipotent, 
Omniscient, and Eternal Being revealed to us by Jesus 
Christ, who reigns sole, supreme, and sacred head of 
His own Moral Kingdom of Spirits, where he pro- 
mulgates his divine laws by the creation of Reason. 
For, if the " Divine Revelation" of Jesus could con- 
tradict Reason, it could not bind rational beings. But 
it does not; — for they mutually confirm each other. 
Then, indeed, we are justified in exerting our Rational 
powers in separating the Historical from the Doctrinal 
part of the " Holy Book," and showing that the Doc- 
trine of Christ and the Doctrine of Reason both produce 
one uniform system of morals, or a code for the motives 
which ought to be followed by every person endowed 
with Reason. 

To complete the procedure of Reason in raising the 
sublime and ineffable idea of the Triune Essence in 
the human mind, the preceding process must be shown 
to be absolutely necessary. The three laws of Under- 
standing, under the head Modality — Possibility, 
Existence, Necessity — though limited in extent and 
duration in their application in experience, yet, when 
freed from the restrictions of TIME and SPACE, and 
carried by Reason to the infinite, produce the idea of 



PREFACE. 159 

Infinite or Absolute Necessity. The idea of the Deity, 
as formed by the triple triad of Relation constituting 
Him Creator, Preserver, and Ruler, must not only be 
fully acknowledged by Reason ; it must also be proved 
to be Perfect, Infinite, and Eternal — that is, such an 
idea of the Divinity whose contrary is impossible ; it 
must, therefore, be Absolutely Necessary. 

The importance of accurate definitions in that science 
whose sublime office it is to take charge of the Soul 
cannot be sufficiently enforced. In the case of Know- 
ledge, that is, the immediate connexion of Intuition 
with Conception, sufficient care has been taken to 
establish two permanent definitions, which will con- 
stantly improve in clearness by their more frequent use. 
This is the case in all the Sciences of matter. Shall it 
then be said that in the " Science of Mind" we have 
been less attentive to the establishment of complete 
definitions ? No, certainly not. How much more mo- 
mentous is it then not to neglect this important duty in 
the "Sacred Science of Religion " — that science 
which treats of excellence uncreated — of the King of 
Heaven — the Lord of Glory — the Triune Essence 
himself, clothed in all his Eternal attributes, and dis- 



160 PREFACE. 

pensing his everlasting mercies throughout his whole 
empire of Spirits — that science which frames and 
establishes all the laws of heaven, the kingdom come, 
revealed to us by his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, 
and, with the increase of enlightenment, now established, 
and for ever more firmly fixed, by the aid of Mental 
Science ! How shall the Soul be saved if its laws are 
only indistinctly felt ! What renders this still more 
important is, that here Knowledge is wholly excluded ; 
here is no Intuition to which we can all refer to esta- 
blish the fact ; here every thing is principle, secured, 
indeed, by that which far surpasses all Knowledge, 
yea, that passeth all understanding — that is, Belief : 
not, indeed, the contingent credence given to Historical 
Facts, but the absolutely necessary Belief in Reason, 
whose very contrary is not only impossible but posi- 
tively inconceivable — Truth itself personified in Reason 
and manifested in Conviction. Our definition of the 
first principle of this perfect and Eternal Science must 
assuredly be of an eternal and infinite nature, or it 
defeats its object — giving instruction and distinctness 
in a perfectly pure science. Thus our first and chief 
purpose must be to keep clear of TIME and SPACE, 



PREFACE. 161 

those two universally pervading laws of Sense. Here 
is the definition 





IDEA, 




every thing out of 




TIME and SPACE, 




that we think of only, 




but 


which 


can never come into Time and Space. 



We may conveniently display all the infinite triads 
that enter into the composition of the Triune Deity 
in the annexed table. 

REASON. 

6 IDEAS. 

1. Absolute 2. Absolute 3. Absolute 6. Absolute 

Totality. Limitation. Substance. Necessity. 

4. Absolute 
Cause. 

5. Absolute 
Concurrence. 

From the preceding exposition of Reason, it is con- 
vincingly proved that, in its original and constitutive 
use, it furnishes six laws, which are of precisely the 
same efficacy in the construction of spiritual essences 
that the twelve laivs of Understanding are with respect 
to nature. The most striking contrast, however, is to 
be observed in the application of these original mental 
laws. The Categories of Understanding, even when 



162 PREFACE. 

carried to the infinite by Speculative Reason, are 
totally devoid of meaning, unless they are applied strictly 
to the Sensations received by Sense. This procedure 
generalizes nature, and enables us to arrange it under 
various classes, with a view to produce the utmost con- 
sistency and unity in all our knowledge. 

Here ends the office of SPECULATIVE REASON. 

On the other hand, the most striking difference in 
the operation of the six laws of this self-same faculty, 
Reason, will be apparent. It may be recollected that 
we put the question — Are ive justified in conversing 
about SPIRITS — things that elude Sense, and conse- 
quently can never become objects of our knowledge ! 
What right have we to assume the existence, immor- 
tality, and consequent infinity, of our own Soul I — 
the existence of its Creator, who is at once its Preserver, 
its Governor, and Judge ! — what right have we to 
assume the existence of departed spirits, who, from 
their infinite nature, constitute angels ! — and, finally, 
of an entire world of Spirits, governed not by natural 
but by Moral Laws — in fact, a Kingdom of God, 
according to the " Divine Revelation" made by the 
command of God through his Son, Jesus Christ ! Is 



PREFACE. 163 

this illusion j or is it truth ? If we are not justified 
in this spiritual procedure, it must be gross folly to 
pursue it. But we are justified. We are constrained 
to do this, not of our own accord, but whether we will 
or not. The very impossibility to do the contrary is 
the best refutation to objectors. Let those who are in 
possession of this great gift of God — Reason — deny 
the fact if they cam 

Now a light breaks forth that may well be too power- 
ful for the feeble optics of finite creatures. We are both 
mortal and immortal, beings of Sense and beings of 
Reason, creatures of Earth and angels of Heaven, at 
the same instant ! What can be more natural, nay, 
absolutely indispensable, than to have laws for the Body 
and laws for the Soul ! Can the laws of matter affect 
spirit ! Can all the accumulated powers of nature, 
even when concentrated in the highest degree, operate 
on the Soul ! Can all the anathemas of the Inquisition, 
when fulminated against the religious delinquent by 
the pious zeal of Christ's servants, and for the good of 
his church — can all the material engines invented to 
bruise and crush piecemeal the gross atoms of the Flesh 
— ever wound or inflict the slightest injury on the 
Spirit ! Did the dying Jesus on the Cross forego one 

H 



164 PREFACE. 

particle of his pure spirituality and perfect morality, 
when visited with those marks of contempt, mocked 
and derided as he was by the Roman Soldiers ? No ! 
the evidence is too strong to need an observation ; unless, 
indeed, to acknowledge, to our entire conviction, that 
the converse of this statement is impossible. 

Since we have shown that there must be laivs for 
the Body and laivs for the Soul, it is incumbent on us 
to point out whence these laws originate. We have 
seen that the laws of matter have no influence whatever 
on spirit ; neither can the laws of spirit affect matter. 
In order to produce a change in matter, it must be 
acted upon by matter — a spiritual hammer will not 
drive a material nail. It will be easy to show that 
all material objects obey the laws of Sense ; that they 
are both extensive and successive things ; in fact, that 
they are Intuitions, that is, children of Sense. What, 
let us ask, would be the external world without the forms 
of Sense, TIME and SPACE ? Could it be nature, 
as we apprehend it, consisting of Sensations formed 
into intelligent objects by the twelve laws of Under- 
standing — the Categories? No! it certainly could 
not; or Sensation, which is the matter of nature, rriust 
exist out of the sentient, which is both absurd and 



PREFACE. 165 

impossible. Now, what are these twelve Categories f 
Neither more nor less than the twelve highest Concep- 
tions that can be formed by the human mind. Every 
Sensation of which the mind is conscious must be 
classed under these twelve notions, which give an 
intelligent form to the Sensation, and constitute it a 
knowable object, or an object of nature. Whatever is 
not comprehended under the Categories is not con- 
ceivable -, thus we obtain the triad : 

KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE. 

Intuition -(- Conception -j- Connexion = Material Nature. 

So much for the Laws of the BODY. 

Having shown that the laws of matter originate in 
the faculties of Sense and Understanding, we shall 
now proceed to develop the laws of Spirit from the 
only source left in the human mind — Reason. With 
a view to render the very distinct nature of these laws_ 
apparent, we shall remark that their specific difference 
is pointedly distinct. Every object of nature, that 
is, every object in Time and Space, is finite — has a 
beginning, middle, and end, with respect to Time, and 
is limited in extent with regard to Space. All the pro- 
perties of Sjririt are diametrically opposed to this 

h 2 



166 PREFACE. 

arrangement. They are all infinite, consequently, can 
never apply to matter as an object of nature. Since 
the laws of Reason are infinite in their nature, how 
applicable are they to the Soul, that immaterial and 
immortal part of man, that spiritual essence, which can 
never be ranked under the Categories, but, if it is to 
exist at all, must be secured in the human mind under 
the laws of Reason — the six Ideas ! As the laws of 
matter regard the Body, and, if judiciously employed, 
may promote the perfection, or, in other words, the 
Happiness, of the Body, so the laws of Spirit, if strictly 
followed, will insure the salvation of the Soul, or, in 
other words, establish its Virtue. 

We have shown that Intuitions, or objects of 
nature, are the children of Sense and Understand- 
ing ; so that every Intuition is meanless, until it is 
classed under the twelve laws of Understanding — 
the Categories; and it is this operation alone that 
enables us to determine what sort of thing is actually 
in contact with the senses — a tree, a river, a horse, 
and so forth. Now, we say we know the object to be a 
tree. The Categories concur in giving the form to the 
matter received, or the Sensation ; and this process is 
termed comprehending an Intuition under a Concep- 



PREFACE. 167 

tion, which alone constitutes Knowledge, In the 
absence of Intuition, there can be no Knowledge, be- 
cause all that then remains in the mind is Conception, 
that is, conjecture. 

How very differently is Reason circumstanced ! This 
faculty can know nothing, because, with respect to pure 
ideas, there is no Intuition. Whence, then, does it 
derive its certainty? Not from Knowledge, which 
always implies contact with Sense ; but from Belief. 
What, then, is the nature of this Belief that produces 
such an all-powerful Conviction in the mind, as far to 
surpass all knowledge ? In the language of St. Paul 
it is Faith — "belief in things unseen" Yet, so 
strong is this faith — which in truth is a necessary or 
Rational Belief, whose very contrary is inconceivable, 
that it can never be controverted. Here, then, is the 
real ground of our unshaken and stedfast belief in the 
Doctrine of our Saviour, because it not only accords 
with but is confirmed by Reason, to the very highest 
degree of moral Conviction. So strong is this "faith, 
or belief, in things unseen," that nothing offered to 
Sense can at all be compared with its overpowering 
certainty. We have in the pure mathematics a striking 
and very familiar instance of the absolute or rational 



168 PREFACE. 

Belief in things not seen. Every mental line with which 
mathematical figures are constructed is of this peculiar 
nature — who ever saw the equality of the radii ; yet 
who dare dispute this everlasting truth ! The reason of 
this is quite plain. Both equality and radii are pro- 
ductions of Reason and results of syllogism. How, 
then, can Reason contradict itself and still be Reason ! 
We must always bear in mind that this strict and 
systematic procedure with immutable principles is the 
work of Practical Reason, and completely independent 
of Intuition. The position is, therefore, firmly esta- 
blished — that Rational Belief, which must not be 
confounded with the contingent credence given to 
Historical Facts, surpasses in the most supereminent 
degree all that falls under the cognizance of Sense, 
and is termed Knowledge. So that our Belief in the 
u Divine Revelation" of Jesus Christ is so convincingly 
established on the grounds of Reason, that nothing 
that ever affected Sense can be compared with this 
Conviction. It would be comparing infinite and pure 
spirit with changeable and corrupt matter. 

The remarkable difference in the application of 
Reason, whereby it obtains the two appellations of 
Speculative and Practical, may easily be pointed out 



PREFACE. 169 

so plainly that there can be no excuse in future for 
confounding the one with the other, and thus bringing 
Reason itself into contempt. 



PRACTICAL REASON 


SPECULATIVE REASON 


generates 


generates 


Laws for the Soul : 


Laws for the Body : 


the 


the 


Laws of Morality. 


Laws of Nature. 







All laws originate in mind and not in matter. The 
distinction between the operation of Speculative and 
Practical Reason cannot be too strongly insisted 
upon. A familiar example will render this distinction 
very evident. Suppose, as in the case of a Lottery — 
the distribution of prizes by chance — one thousand 
numbers in one wheel, and one thousand blanks and 
prizes in the other ; nothing can be clearer than that 
the purchaser intends by selecting the fortunate number 
to obtain the great prize. Can it be a question, here, 
whether he speculates in the Lottery ? Certainly not. 
Then this is an affair of Speculative Reason. For, 
either from the doctrine of chances or some happy 
dream, he fancies he has hit upon the lucky number. 
Every professional man speculates on advancing in his 
profession. The murderer calculates on accomplishing 
his design. Sufficient evidence of Speculative Reason, 



170 PREFACE. 

whose result can never be resolved but by the fact — 
the Intuition. 

Different, indeed, is the case with Practical Reason. 
Here every thing is completely determined, and no 
speculation whatever permitted 5 no doctrine of chances 
will here avail. If you follow the dictates of the Moral 
Law, you are good ; if designedly you do not, you are 
wicked : so says our Saviour. Dare you speculate with 
the salvation of your Soul, and sell yourself to the 
devil for the gratification of Sense % No ! Reason 
forbids the nefarious traffic, and brings the speculator 
to desponding shame. Practical Reason generates 
a Code of spiritual laws for the regulation of spirits, at 
the head of which it places the Moral Law. Now, all 
motives to action must be spiritual, originating in the 
Soul. Good motives are those alone which are performed 
out of reverence for the Moral Law ; and this is the 
only spring to good motives. Can there be here any 
doubt, any speculation, any calculating on chances, 
whether man had better barter his eternal Soul for the 
fleeting mammon of this world ! We sicken at the 
thought, turn pale at the shock, and feel an inward 
dread ! No, nothing comes to pass through chance and 
undesigning fate. 



PREFACE. 171 

Practical Reason stands boldly forward r > the 
author of the Code of Moral Laws Revealed to us by 
Jesus, and commands our unconditional obedience to 
these laws if we value our Salvation. Here nothing is 
uncertain, nothing doubtful : (c Thou shalt not lie," 
whatever may be the consequence. So strong, so true, 
so indelibly engraven on our hearts, is this law, that we 
stand conscience-struck at every transgression. Thus 
we perceive that our immortal Soul is a thing of 
absolute worth — a final end — nay, the very Scope of 
Creation. It is a thing of such intrinsic value and high 
importance, that it may not be disposed of at our will 
and pleasure ; so that we cannot do as we will with our 
own, if we obey the Moral Law. Let any one con- 
template suicide — making a false promise — or practising 
any deceit — and ask the approval of his conscience ; 
he will soon find that every thing in the Practical field 
is absolutely and unalterably determined. The reason 
of this is plain. These principles refer to and reside in 
Eternity with the eternal Soul which they are framed 
to govern. 

RATIONAL BELIEF ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE 

is is 

principle. fact. 

h5 



172 PREFACE. 

Since the momentous and fundamental principles of 
Religion are thus suddenly transformed into axioms in 
the " Sacred Science," may we not confidently pre- 
dict the safe and rapid progress that must follow this 
happy discovery — in awakening religious sentiments 
in the infantile mind, and acquainting it with the 
vastness of its ultimate destination. Religious Educa- 
tion will now proceed on the safe and sure path of 
Science. It can no longer be a question whether the 
child is first to be instructed in the dogmas of Catho- 
licism, or at once initiated into the pure precepts of 
Primitive Christianity. In this Science, as in all other 
pure sciences, we are not left to a vague and uncertain 
choice of procedure ; but are constrained to commence 
with the sacred axioms: the Existence of God — the 
Immortality of the Soul — a Future State ; and, from 
these incontrovertible points, to develop the entire 
"Science of Religion, "establishing on scientific grounds 
that perfect Code of Moral precepts revealed to us in 
the (( Sacred Volume" by Jesus Christ, which at once 
preserves them from cavil, and assures us, that if we 
renounce that " Book" there is no other means of 
salvation : for that " Book" contains the " Sacred 
Science," the Word of God! — Will not the rising 



PREFACE. 173 

generation have good cause to applaud the indefatigable 
perseverance of their predecessors in the successful 
investigation of the prime instrument of thought, the 
human mind, when scientific Truth stands boldly 
forward, and assures them that the " Divine Reve- 
lation" of our Saviour points out the only road to 
Salvation, and that, according to common Sense, 
cultivated Reason, and the u Sacred Science," there 
can be no other ! Hence all departure from the " Sacred 
Book," all disputation on its contents, and all petty 
divisions into sects, can only arise from incautiously 
confounding the History with the Doctrine, which 
the invaluable discoveries in mental science have enabled 
us in the present work completely and for ever to 
separate. No doubt whatever can now remain in the 
mind of man, which is his pre-eminent part — his Soul 
or his Body — the fleeting visions and fluctuating 
impressions of Sense, or the permanent and eternal 
laws of Reason — the facts that occur on earth which, 
when recorded, are denominated History, and are 
properly enough termed the Word of Man — or the 
principles, which are the spiritual things of heaven, 
and, being purified from the dregs of every thing earthly, 
constitute a Doctrine which is indeed the Word of 
God. How superior Faith is to Knowledge must now 



174 PREFACE. 

be more than evident to the least reflective mind. 
Knowledge is founded on the evanescent impressions of 
Sense, while Faith — " the belief in things unseen " — 
is inherent in Reason. We have already displayed the 
elements of Knoivledge ; we will now show the mental 
elements of Belief: 

belief of reason. 

Conception -\- Idea -f Connexion = Spiritual Nature. 

Spirits are the offspring of Reason. How applicable, 
then, are the laws of the Soul, which is of a pure 
spiritual nature, to the laws of virtue, with which they 
are so congenial ! What we call Knowledge and consider 
so very certain is really no more than a combination of 
Sensations to which Understanding has given forms, 
and thus constituted them so many intelligible objects — 
Intuition — 'phenomenon — a mere mental procedure 
depending upon some Cause out of the mind — noumenon; 
whereas, in Rational Belief the whole procedure is 
entirely mental, and requires no foreign aid. It springs 
up from the very nature of Reason itself, and, like 
mathematical figures, is the same in the mind of a 
Peasant as in that of a Newton, if formed at all. Some 
minds are more cultivated than others ; but no mind 
can make a circle that is not round. So with Faith : 
some minds may have studied the subject more diligently 



PREFACE. 175 

than others \ yet all minds are susceptible of equal 
advancement, or the enlightened only would inherit the 
kingdom of heaven. This scientific Faith is, with 
regard to Conviction, precisely on the same footing as 
the mathematics — both are built on Syllogisms. The 
marked distinction between Belief and Knowledge may 
be made very apparent, thus : 

BELIEF KNOWLEDGE 

arises from arises from 

REASON, SENSE, 

and is wholly and entirely •produced by and has its matter given to and its form 
the Mind. produced by the Mind. 

Conception -\- Idea + Connexion = Sensation -f- Conception + Connexion = 
Belief, Knowledge, 

which constitutes which constitutes 



PRINCIPLE. 



FACT. 



The laws of Reason, which are the laws of Virtue, 
furnish a Code for the regulation of the motives of our 
actions. Motives belong to the Soul, which resides in 
Eternity, and which, being of an infinite nature, 
requires infinite laws for its government. Actions, on 
the other hand, appertain to the Body, which occupies 
Time, and, being of a finite nature, requires finite laws 
for its regulation. As the laws of Sense and Under- 
standing are strictly confined to the arrangement of 
matter, and are consequently called the laws of physical 
or material nature, so the pure spiritual laws of Reason 



1?6 PREFACE. 

regard the disposition of spirit, and must be considered 
as the laws of Heaven or of Virtue. The laws of Sense — 
TIME and SPACE — when applied to Sensation, consti- 
tute material nature ; the laws of Understanding — the 
Categories — are the formal laws of nature when in contact 
with Sensation. These very same laws, when abstracted 
from Sensation, constitute the pure mathematics ; con- 
sequently, nature is a compound of pure mathematical 
form and Sensation, which constitutes its matter. 

It is a well known fact, that pure mathematics are 
entirely free from Sensation ; consequently, the Cate- 
gories, which are the essence of these pure intellectual 
forms, must be quite distinct from the forms of Sense — 
TIME and SPACE. Out of these pure mental essences 
— the Categories — Reason constructs its ideas, which 
of course must be still further removed from Sensation. 
To what can these laws of Pure Reason apply if not 
to Spirits! As Sense and Understanding conjointly 
constitute nature from given matter — Sensation ; so 
Reason, from the intellectual essences of Under- 
standing — the Categories — constructs the ideas of 
the entire world of Spirits. It is the office of Practical 
Reason to form a code of laws for the government of 
the Soul, with the moral law, as revealed by Jesus 
Christ, at their head; and it is the business of Specu- 



PREFACE. 177 

lative Reason to free man from the instinct of animals, 
by giving a far greater scope to the laws of nature than 
is assigned to the bees and the beavers ; thus conferring 
on man the entire dominion over nature, which directly 
confirms the "Revelation" of Moses, who says : "Thou 
shalt have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over 
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the 
earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon 
the earth." 

The constituent principles of the Human Mind, which 
have been here introduced expressly for the purpose of 
proving the truth of our assertion — that every thought, 
word, or deed, conceived, uttered, or executed, by man 
is bottomed upon the Triune Principle, have indeed 
been eminently successful in accomplishing their object. 
Not an atom of any one of these elements departs from 
this law ; but, on the contrary, confirms it for ever. So 
that from the minutest conceivable particle of Time to 
the most comprehensive and overwhelming idea capable 
of being formed by the Mind of man — the Triune 
Deity himself — all confirms, corroborates, and sub- 
stantiates, the everlasting truth of a Trinity in Unity. 

The glorious result of this reasoning, particularly as 
regards the supremacy of the Soul over the Body, must 
awaken in the mind sentiments of the deepest interest. 



178 PREFACE. 

Of what avail are the transient gratifications of Sense 
and their contracted span, in comparison with the im- 
mutable and everduring principles of Reason : So 
strong is the comparison between the corruptible and 
contingent, which occupy Time, and the necessary and 
incorruptible, which reside in Eternity, that, were the 
whole material world and all that exists in Time for 
ever swept away and totally annihilated, yet not one 
essence of all geometrical figures, nor of all spiritual 
existences — which never can enter Time, but reside 
for ever among the universal and the necessary — in 
Eternity — could receive the slightest injury from the 
destruction of that impure matter which never could 
approach the sacred and holy abode of Spirits. What 
is all this world of vanities and its alluring pleasures % 
What their sum and substance here below ? A dream 
forgotten, or a bubble burst. But what says the dying 
Jesus! — "Believe in me, and ye shall never die." 
RESURRECTION ! — that cheering word relieves my 
anxious Soul, and tells of joys yet to come, whose very 
duration can only be measured by Eternity. Eternity ! 
— pleasing yet awful thought ! Here the secrets of all 
hearts are disclosed, every artifice laid bare. What 
comfort, then, in carrying an upright conscience to the 
awful presence, and relying on the mercy of Him who 



PREFACE. 179 

has placed us in this world of trial, to prove our claim 
to brighter realms ! With what joy shall I look up 
when I behold my salvation drawing near ! Now, even 
now, my Soul clings to my Redeemer, who has inter- 
ceded for all mankind, and promised forgiveness to the 
truly penitent, and assured us of the benign Grace of 
our Heavenly Father ! Thus has this faculty, which 
God has made to declare his own glory, fully borne out 
our assertion — that the Divine Author of the Human 
Mind is not even conceivable by his own offspring under 
any other form than the Triune Principle. 

Sense, the mere passive faculty of the Mind, declares 
this truth in the face of day, by showing that its two 
receivers, TIME and SPACE, must for ever stand in 
necessary connexion, or the Faculty is annihilated. 
Understanding, with its twelve Categories — this active 
power of uniting Sensations into intelligible objects — 
with its host of Triads, leaves us speechless at this 
matchless truth. Finally, Reason, with its infinite 
series of boundless Triads, consummates the whole, and 
puts to shame every attempt to impugn the Triune 
Principle. We have now performed our promise, by 
showing that the three original and primitive Faculties 
of the Mind — Sense, Understanding, Reason — 
stand forth for ever in confirmation of this never-to-be- 



180 



PREFACE. 



controverted truth — a Trinity in Unity : and that it 

is absolutely impossible either to think, to talk, or to 

act, without involving this principle. Consequently, 

the thought of oneness is both contradictory and absurd, 

for it is a noneness, or a complete nonentity. We may 

now assuredly affirm that the whole dispute on this 

vital principle of the " Christian Religion ■' is merely 

a verbal controversy. The Faculties of the Mind, with 

all their triune elements, may be conveniently exhibited 

at one view thus : 

THE MIND. 



SENSE. 

2 RECEPTIVITIES 




UNDERSTANDING. 

12 CATEGORIES. 



QUANTITY. 

Unity, 

Multitude, 

Totality. 


QUALITY. RELATION. 

Reality, Substance and Accident, 
Negation, Cause and Effect, 
Limitation. Action and Reaction. 


MODALITY 

Possibility, 
Existence, 
Necessity. 




REASON. 




Absolute 
Totality. 


6 IDEAS. 

Absolute Absolute 
Limitation. Substance, 

Absolute 
Cause, 

Absolute 
Concurrence. 


Absolute 

Necessity. 




RESULTS. 




INTUITION, CONCEPTION, IDEA, 

present in absent in out of 

Time and Space. Time and Space. Time and Space 



PREFACE. 181 

We cannot but be forcibly struck on beholding only 
three results as the primitive effects of the three original 
faculties of the Mind ; and, the very instant the Mind 
begins to think at all, these results spring up, and are 
occupied in the process of thought, in the following 
manner. When Sense is affected by something distinct 
from the mind, a Sensation is generated, which, being 
immediately arranged under the Categories of Under- 
standing, becomes an intelligible object. This pro- 
cedure bears the name of Intuition, while we are in 
the actual state of Sensation ; but that of Conception 
when the object is withdrawn, and we refer only to its 
mental image. While we are viewing an object of 
nature — a rose — it is an Intuition ; the recollection 
of this flower is a Conception. Thus the combination 
of Intuition and Conception constitutes nature in its 
only two references of present or absent. 

Intuition -j- Conception -f- Connexion = Nature. 

This procedure is entirely limited to TIME and 
SPACE; and objects, in order to be knoivn, must not 
only exist within these limits but must also be finite. 
For the finite cannot grasp the infinite. Thus under 
the terms of Intuition and Conceptioyi we have entirely 
exhausted nature. 



182 PREFACE. 

Nature, however, could not make itself, but must have 
a Cause, and this Cause may — nay, must — be infinite, 
or it could not accomplish its design. But where 
shall we find such a vast and supreme power ? Surely 
not among the finite objects of nature, which are its 
own Effects. It would, indeed, be a gross perversion 
of thought to confound the Effect with the Cause. In 
Time, therefore, we cannot hope to find the Cause of 
the things which inhabit this sphere, much less the 
Cause of Time itself. Hence we are constrained to 
place this Cause in Eternity, and express this infinite 
and omnipotent Power by the term Idea. A bare inspec- 
tion of the Diagram will render this notion of Infinite 
Cause luminously conspicuous, and show the propriety 
of the definition — that Idea is out of TIME and 
SPACE. TheTRiuNE Principle is here also powerfully 
evinced in the Relation of the Cause to its Production. 

Creator -\- Creation -j- Relation = Universe. 

The three primitive Results of the sublime instrument 
of thought— the Mind— must never be confounded with 
each other; and their definitions are so absolutely 
distinct and so completely determined that the one 
can never run into the other. They are such essential 
ingredients in all thinking that they cannot be too fully 



PREFACE. 183 



displayed : they arise from their original sources in the 
following order. 



SENSE 


UNDERSTANDING 


REASON 


makes 


makes 


makes 


TUITIONS. 


CONCEPTIONS. 


IDEAS. 



It is useless to deny a truth ; for, from whatever side 
we view it, its evidence becomes stronger, and it is sure 
to confront us at last. Though the dispute regarding 
the Triune Essence of the Divinity has lasted for so 
many centuries, we must now, in all candour, acknow- 
ledge that it is brought to a happy and final termination. 
The three results of the thinking Faculty — Intuition? 
Conception, Idea — stare us in the face, and exclaim — 
"We are a necessary and indispensable Triad; we 
enter into the very constitution of all human knowledge, 
and without us there can be neither knowledge, thought, 
nor reasoning." Annul either of the essences of this 
triad, which are the results of mental activity, and the 
Mind is destroyed : take away Intuition, and the 
mind cannot connect its Sensations ; destroy Concep- 
tion — it cannot think ; remove Idea — it ceases to 
reason. We have already shown that each of these 
results is a triad in itself, and their sum total is also a 
triad. Therefore, in order to be consistent, we are con- 



1 84 PREFACE. 

strained to retain this triad with the same pertinacity 
that we adhere to the necessity of three lines to com- 
pose a triangle — neither more nor less. 

Thus we have established the TRIUNE PRINCIPLE. 

We are not so vain-glorious as to pretend to enume- 
rate the endless and inconceivable benefits that will 
naturally flow from this right use of Reason ; nor, 
indeed, can we conceive it possible that the latest pos- 
terity will ever be able to do justice to the merits of 
this inexhaustible mine of intellectual wealth, the Mind, 
which first becomes conscious of its existence in the 
finite sphere of Time, but expands and perpetuates 
itself in the infinite region of Eternity. The Mind ! 
that offset of Deity — when first planted in the garden 
of Time, bads forth in infancy, blossoms in manhood, 
fructifies in death, when it is transplanted into the soil 
of Eternity, where it matures its fruit to its own ever- 
lasting satisfaction, nourishing itself on the never-fading 
joys which it has stored up in its progress, and where, 
amidst enraptured seraphs, it sings the praises of its 
great Creator. 

We will nevertheless attempt a feeble display of our 
mighty wisdom, by showing at least one powerful benefit 



PREFACE. 185 

resulting from the unrivalled discovery of the TWENTY 
elements of the Human Mind. The Conviction of 
the truth and divinity of the " Christian Religion " 
will go hand in hand with the development of Reason, 
till it has reached the climax predicted by its Divine 
Founder — the only true and sole religion for all rational 
beings, not merely confined to that insignificant speck 
in the vast ocean of creation, our earth, but the pure, 
perfect, and permanent " Religion " of all rational 
Spirits, in all their infinite and diversified grades up to 
the very Throne of God ! Here we defy refutation, 
and challenge the detection of any hidden fallacy. Thus 
by treating " Religion" as a Science, and making Faith 
stronger and more firm than Knowledge — however 
overpowering these splendid truths may appear to finite 
capacities, yet they sufficiently vouch for the veracity 
of our prognostication. 

Reason is legislative in the kingdom of God ! This 
basis of Morality is the author of its own principles, 
and commands the man of Sense to approach the 
judgment-seat of Reason. Here the supreme judge, 
Conscience, that spirit of truth promised by our Saviour 
— the Comforter — pronounces sentence upon the man 
of Sense, and either acquits or condemns him, according 



186 PREFACE. 

as the action merits. Thus we render an account of 
our deeds to the Knower of Hearts. How can we con- 
template with sufficient awe and reverence that Being 
who created us and endowed us with Reason, not only 
as the means of knowing all our Duties, but also to 
show us when we transgress and when we do our duty. 
This contemplation leads the Mind naturally to the 
idea of " Religion/' and proves that it is the duty of 
man to have "Religion." 

I cannot better conclude these reflections on Reason 
than by repeating some of the lucubrations which I 
addressed to my countrymen some twenty years since 
on this highly important view of the Rational Faculty. 
" Having effectually clipped the wings of Speculative 
Reason, and thus for ever prevented it from ranging 
about and losing itself among unattainable objects, and 
amusing itself with sophisms and contradictions ; and 
having firmly established the supremacy of Practical 
Reason, we find ourselves in possession of the following 
glorious results : the existence of God — the immortality 
of the Soul — the Freedom of the Will — a Future 
State — the only True Religion — a perfect System of 
Morals — and, lastly, the elevating conviction that man 
is the final end and Scope of Creation." 



PREFACE. 187 

It must ever be remembered that Speculative 
Reason strives after the greatest systematic unity of 
all our Knowledge; and that Practical Reason 
strives after the greatest unity and consistency among 
our Desires. 

<&n tty Crturte principle, 

AS CONSTITUTING THE ESSENCE OF THE 

JUDGING FACULTY. 

After the proofs we have already adduced in support 
of our assertion that the Triune Principle forms the 
foundation of all thinking, it seems almost superfluous 
to proceed further on the subject. Yet there may be 
minds so superficial as not to penetrate below the 
surface, and content to take appearance for truth. 
Even these, if they think at all, must exert the Judging 
Faculty ; it may be well, therefore, to convince them 
that they cannot judge of the most trifling thing in 
nature without confirming all we have stated regarding 
the Triune Principle. 

The first essential ingredient in judging is to have 
something to judge of — and this is called the subject 
in the judgment. All thinking, judging, and acting, 
are vain, not to say impossible, without objects. Hence 

i 



188 PREFACE. 

the absolute necessity of something to judge of. Logic 
is perfectly indifferent as to whence the objects come, 
or how they are produced, so long as they are present 
when it exercises its functions. It may, therefore, be 
well called a " dogmatical science" which assumes that 
the things are as they appear. This is, indeed, not 
penetrating below the surface. Thus, when I strike my 
head against a stone wall, I determine that the object is 
in fact, as denominated, a stone wall, per se. It has, 
however, long since been settled by science that the 
pain we feel is wholly in the mind and not at all in the 
object; that sounds, colours, and so forth, are merely 
Sensations in the mind : carry this reasoning one step 
farther, and the truth is disclosed. Say that all we 
know of the things which surround us is only Sensation, 
and our famed stone wall will turn out to be merely a 
mental object — INTUITION. 

All the objects of nature, in spite of this dogmatic 
Science, will, therefore, prove to be INTUITIONS, 
and these constitute the subject in all judgments of 
experience. 

In order to form a judgment it is not sufficient to 
have a subject ; we must also assert something re- 
specting it; that is, either affirm or deny it to be 



PREFACE. 189 

heavy or lights thick or thin, black or white, and so on ; 
this is called attributing a predicate to a subject. The 
nature of this predicate is worthy of investigation. In 
all judgments of Experience, the predicate indicates 
some quality that we either affirm or deny of the sub- 
ject. Now, the subject, being the thing — INTUITION 
— judged of, our purpose is to distinguish it from other 
objects by some peculiar quality — as a red rose, 
or a white rose. Here the INTUITION, rose being 
the subject, it is quite clear that red or white is not the 
thing, but merely the distinctive quality. For instance, 
the notion, red, is not confined to the individual rose 
under consideration, but refers to all red things in 
nature. But, as we cannot experience all red things, 
we are constrained to conceive them ; so that the pre- 
dicate is a CONCEPTION. 

We are now most certainly in possession of two very 
essential ingredients for forming a judgment : the subject 
and the predicate— INTUITION and CONCEPTION. 
These are, indeed, the matter of a judgment, as the 
bricks are the materials for forming a house. Yet, 
another very essential part, without which we should 
neither have a house to live in nor be able to form a 
judgment, that is, the cement, the junction, the union, 

i2 



190 PREFACE. 

the connexion — that bane of philosophical reasoning — 
is yet a desideratum. This stumbling-block, which has 
occasioned so much controversy, we trust we have now 
for ever removed, by showing that connexion is just as 
necessary to compose one thing as it is necessary that 
that thing should have parts. The one without the 
other is impossible. So that, like the three lines of a 
triangle, we may think them apart ; but, the moment 
we really take away one line, the triangle is annihilated. 
Thus we have proved to absolute Conviction that the 
Triune Principle forms the foundation of all judging 
and of all thinking. The ot>ro§, erspos, o-vvsxw, is here 
still further proved, in case what has preceded should 
have failed. 

In the Science of Logic, the name given to this 
connexion is copula; hence a judgment consists of 
three necessary constituent parts : Subject, Predicate, 
and Copula. The subject and predicate constitute the 
matter ; the copula is the form of the judgment, because 
it determines how the materials are to be arranged — 
whether affirmatively or negatively. It may now be 
asked what indicates the necessary connexion between 
INTUITION and CONCEPTION so as only to com- 
pose one thing. The solution of this apparent difficulty 



PREFACE. 191 

is the key to the " Philosophy of Mind," and at the same 
time furnishes a full demonstration of the truth of the 
Triune Principle. We clearly perceive that there is 
a great difference between the extent of the subject and 
predicate. The rose for instance bears no comparison 
whatever with the extent of the red colour spread over 
the objects of nature. Now this difference in extent is 
expressed by the term sphere, and in all judgments the 
sphere of the predicate exceeds that of the subject. The 
rose, however, is an INTUITION, and the red colour 
is a CONCEPTION. Having determined that the 
sphere of the Conception is uniformly greater than that 
of the Intuition, the difficulty instantly vanishes when 
we see that the Intuition is comprehended under the 
Conception ; and this act in "Transcendental Phi- 
losophy " is equivalent to the copula in Logic ; thus : 

Subject -j- Copula -J- Predicate = Judgment. 

Intuition -|- Connexion -f- Conception = Knowledge. 
Rose ~\- ' is -{- Red = Red Rose. 

The proofs of the Triune Principle are actually 
overpowering. We cannot even speak of the most 
trivial thing in nature without evincing the presence 
of this eternal and everpervading principle. In only 
remarking on the colour of a rose, we find that this 



192 PREFACE. 

principle is involved. On beholding a " stone wall" we 

find it again. But we have determined that the stone 

wall is an INTUITION, that is, merely a mental 

representation, which can exist only in the mind. 

INTUITION, which is the matter of Knowledge, is 

quite meanless till it is placed under a CONCEPTION, 

which gives it an intelligible/orm, and in fact constitutes 

it Knowledge. The mental process of comprehending 

the INTUITION under the CONCEPTION may well 

be called connecting the one with the other — the otfroc, 

hspog, (rvvs%y$y or the very essence of the "Triune 

Principle." INTUITION without CONCEPTION 

is matter without form ; the converse is too apparent 

which is form without matter. Both these cases are 

not only absurd but impossible. Hence the necessity 

of the absolute conjunction of INTUITION and 

CONCEPTION to produce the most common object 

of Knowledge. It must always be remembered that 

when the object is present — as this book — it is called 

an INTUITION ; but when it is out of sight it is not 

out of mind, for the recollected image of the absent 

book is a CONCEPTION. 

It is so strikingly evident that Sensations can only 
exist in the sentient being that we need not attempt a 



PREFACE. 193 

laboured proof of so notorious a fact. If Sensations 
can exist only in the mind, though evidently produced 
by something distinct from the mind, it is quite absurd 
to suppose that INTUITION, which is a mere com- 
pound of Sensations, can be out of the mind. Yet this 
inevitable illusion pervades all minds that are not 
deeply imbued with " Mental Philosophy/' It is how- 
ever high time to expose this appalling hindrance to all 
real enlightenment — this dead stop to all intellectual 
advancement. In the preceding example, that cluster 
of Sensations, which we call a rose, is wholly in the 
mind, and the very matter of all the Knowledge we 
have of nature is actually — INTUITION. The science 
of "Logic'' is bond fide, and really the author of this 
inveterate prejudice. This Science is so careless and 
unconcerned whence it obtains its objects, or of what 
they are composed, so long as it finds objects at hand 
on which to exercise its functions, that in all cases it 
assumes that they are, in fact, as they appear. 

This fatal error has kept the world chained down 
in utter darkness and degrading ignorance from the 
Creation. Yet bright Spirits, like gems, have occa- 
sionally bespangled this profound gloom. Appearance 
would send the glorious orb of day round our insigni- 



194 PREFACE. 

ficant globe : Reason at length has vanquished this 
absurdity, and restored things to order. Appearance 
would place stone walls, fortified castles, rivers, trees, 
continents, and oceans, out of the mind : Reason will 
not have it so. What !— INTUITIONS out of a mind ! 
Whoever seriously insists upon this must indeed be out 
of his mind ! What ! — Sensatio?is out of the Sentient ! 
Surely when we converse about these objects of nature, 
we only describe the various clusters and combinations 
of Sensation which we falsely — through inattention — 
consider out of the mind. But most certainly all we 
say about these things can only be what we know of 
them — and where can knowledge be if not in the 
mind? Certainly, no where ! Reason now thinks it 
high time to correct this error, and to prove that, as 
INTUITION is the matter of Knowledge, it must also 
be in the mind. 

Having thus finally settled that the matter of Know- 
ledge — INTUITION — is in the mind, we will now 
proceed to investigate the form of Knowledge. Here, 
indeed, we shall be forcibly struck with the bright 
effulgence of a light that has shone forth in modern 
days — ay, even to eclipse that splendid ray which 
showed the great parent of light to be stationary. 



PREFACE. 195 

Providence is ever dispensing its goodness by sending 
forth superior Souls to exert their influence for pro- 
gressive enlightenment. In the present instance of its 
benignity, what thanks, what gratitude, what admira- 
tion, can equal the magnitude and importance of the 
boon conferred — a complete "revelation" of the entire 
fabric of the "Human Mind," and the perfect esta- 
blishment of its TWENTY ELEMENTS ! — Without 
this desideratum, the form of Knowledge, as hereto- 
fore, must have remained in impenetrable darkness, 
only to perplex the anxious inquirer after truth. But 
now he sees his way most clearly ; he is now furnished 
with a chart and compass ; and may safely steer his 
devious course amid the rocks and quicksands which 
are so plenteously strewed, though hidden, in the seas 
of speculation, and yet avoid all these dangers. 

This " Transcendent Science " defines form to 
be the arrangement of the parts of matter, which, in 
common parlance, is called giving a shape, as connecting 
or placing the bricks into a square, or composing an 
Apollo of plaster of Paris. In Knowledge, we shall 
have to consider form under two distinct points of 
view. First, INTUITIONS must have a form or mode 
of being, which is grounded in the nature of Sense, and 

i5 



196 PREFACE. 

is either that of extension or succession, their matter 
always being Sensation. INTUITIONS can only 
constitute the matter of Knowledge when they are 
comprehended under CONCEPTIONS, which give 
them an intelligible form. Hence the necessity of 
analysing Conception, in order precisely to determine 
the nature of an intelligible form. 

Now, the form of every thing in nature has the pro- 
perties of Quantity, Quality, Relation, Modality. 
A thing without these essential requisites is, in fact, 
no thing. To determine what Quantity of things 
— INTUITIONS — are present, we are quite sure they 
must be included in the Triad — One, Many, All. 
Precisely to settle the Quality of the objects under 
consideration, we are equally certain that they must 
be included in the Triad — Reality, Negation, Limi- 
tation : for we can only pronounce the objects before 
us to be real things of nature — INTUITIONS — when 
we can assign to them definite limits ; that is, be sure 
they are not illusions : this, however, can only be done 
by negations. Lastly, in order to state positively what 
sort of thing — INTUITION — is before us, it must 
assuredly stand under the only three possible relations 
that connect all the objects — INTUITIONS — of nature, 



PREFACE. 197 

under the Triad — Substance and Accident, Cause and 
Effect, Action and Reaction. This at first may appear 
a somewhat complicated process ; but the mind accom- 
plishes it as quick as thought, for it is the very essence 
of thinking, though neither sufficiently known nor 
accurately attended to. Thus, when I think of a rose 
in general, it is a CONCEPTION, comprehending all 
the variety of roses in the world ; but, when I pluck a 
particular rose, this is an INTUITION, or one that is 
included in the first Triad as to Number, and having 
certain properties and qualities comprised in the second 
triad as to Degree ; and, lastly, it stands under every 
member of the third triad, first as being a subsisting 
rose, which fills Space and occupies Time, and thus 
while present is Permanent 5 secondly, as being pro- 
duced by the rose-bush, it is the Effect of a Cause, and 
thus evanescent or Successive; finally, while held in 
the hand, it has its place in space fully Determined 
by the reaction of the hand, otherwise it would fall to 
the ground. This process is called giving an intelli- 
gibleform to the INTUITION, or placing the particular 
rose under the CONCEPTION, and thus constituting 
it a knowable object. We now say — " I know it is a 
rose." 



198 PREFACE, 

It must be obvious that these are the self-same "Cate- 
gories" employed in a former chapter to construct the 
objects of nature. To this circumstance Logic, how- 
ever, pays no regard. Finding so many original notions 
stored up in the mind, it makes no scruple to employ 
them, without inquiring whence they came ; but it 
instantly uses these triads as so many CONCEPTIONS, 
which it predicates of the INTUITIONS, on which it 
exerts its judging functions. These CONCEPTIONS 
are the most general forms of natural objects ; that 
is, the manner in which INTUITIONS are connected, 
in order to render them intelligible objects, or they 
are the most general CONCEPTIONS under which 
natural objects can be classed. When the i( Catego- 
ries " are employed to construct the objects of nature, 
this process is called the Constitutive use of Under- 
standing ; but, when merely employed to classify the 
objects already constructed, it is termed the Regulative 
use of Understanding. The INTUITION, rose, 
being thus not only fully constructed, but absolutely 
determined as to Quantity, Quality, and Relation, it 
only remains now to show the mode of its existence, 
under the Triad of — being in any time, in a certain 
time, or in all time — that is, whether the rose is 



PREFACE. 199 

Possible, Actual, or Necessary. Here we have no 
difficulty in determining the case; for, holding the 
rose in our hand we are sure that it is an actual rose, 
and must be classed among existing things in the triad 
— Modality. 

Logic, finding these twelve original CONCEPTIONS 
ready prepared in the mind, does not hesitate to make 
use of this compound of triads, and to erect them into 
twelve Primitive Judgments, which it also arranges 
under the four heads of Quantity, Quality, Relation, 
Modality, in distinct triads, precisely corresponding 
with the original triads which constitute the Under- 
standing. Though this perfect set of triads was 
collected and arranged by Aristotle, more than three 
centuries before the birth of our " Saviour,'' yet the 
roots from which they spring — the Categories — 
were not unfolded to us till within the last half century. 
The remarkable coincidence that exists between each 
Category and its corresponding Judgment is so striking 
as to require no further proof of their correctness. The 
Categories, however, are not left to this slender proof 
of their truth and completeness : they carry with them 
an internal Conviction of their absolute perfection ; 
of the total impossibility of dispensing with any one 



200 PREFACE. 

of them, changing their order, or either augmenting or 
diminishing their number. This set of triads, therefore, 
stands forth triumphantly in proof of our assertion that 
the Triune Principle is coeval with the human mind, 
for it constitutes its very essence. 

The attempt to prove the absolute completeness of 
Aristotle's Judgments has been a very favourite occu- 
pation with the learned for many successive centuries. 
The erudition which has been bestowed on this fasci- 
nating investigation is almost incredible. Yet this 
perfect set of triads has never undergone any change — 
nay, when a truth or a 'principle is discovered the more 
it is investigated the stronger becomes the Conviction 
of it. How, then, can it undergo a change ! The 
principle of circularity must have been as perfect in the 
mind of Adam — if he ever conceived a circle — as at 
the present day ; and it can never change, so long as 
a human mind exists to form the CONCEPTION of a 
circle. So much for the accuracy of Aristotle's set of 
triads, or the twelve original principles of Judgmeyit. 

The twelve Categories, which are the aborigines, 
the primitive roots, the first principles, whence all 
nature springs — as well as the twelve original Judg- 
ments of Aristotle — must be absolutely capable of 



PREFACE. 201 

producing, from their own pure nature, a conviction of 
their truth, so complete and overpowering as to defy 
all controversy : for, showing them to be principles, 
we at once stamp them as self-evident and necessary 
truths, inhabiting the infinite abode of Eternity, where 
error cannot exist. It v/ill be extremely interesting 
to see each of these Judgments growing up from its 
original root — " Category" — and to trace the strong 
affinity that subsists between them, so that the correct- 
ness of the long-proved table of Judgments seems, as 
it were, to establish the truth of the twelve original prin- 
ciples of intellect, which, however, do not in the least 
stand in need of this extraneous support, but carry 
with them a full conviction of their own all-perfect com- 
pleteness *. This absolute completeness of the Cate- 
gories does not in the least diminish the interest we 
feel in tracing the happy coincidence which occurs when 
truth meets truth. For this purpose we shall so arrange 
the table of "Categories" and the table of Judgments 
that on mere inspection the whole of this captivating 

* The whole of this procedure is formally proved and fully demon- 
strated in a treatise on " Logic " — which I published about twenty years 
since, with illustrative plates — in which the supremacy of Moral Belief, 
or the " Conviction of Reason," over Knowledge is also established — 
in the Encyclop/edia Londinensis, V T ol. XIII., page 12, Art. Logic. 



202 



PREFACE. 



similarity must be quite apparent, for it must be evident 
to the least reflective mind that each Judgment has 
originated from its primitive root, Category ; thus : 



JUDGMENTS of UNDERSTANDING, 

ARISING FROM THE APPLICATION OF THE 

CATEGORIES 

to the 

THINGS OF NATURE. 



QUANTITY. 

Unity, 

Multitude, 

Totality. 



QUANTITY. 



12 CATEGORIES. 

QUALITY. RELATION. MODALITY. 

Reality, Substance and Accident, Possibility, 

Negation, Cause and Effect, Existence, 

Limitation. Action and Reaction. Necessity. 



Singular, 



Particular, 



Universal. 



12 JUDGMENTS. 
QUALITY. RELATION. 




MODALITY. 




Affirmative, 




Categorical, 




Problematical, 
















Negative, 




Hypothetical, 




Assertorical, 
















Infinite. 




Disjunctive. 




Apodictical. 

















Now the secret is out, why the identically same 
objects are considered under two very distinct points 
of view : "Logically" as objects of nature, per se, or 
as totally independent and absolutely distinct from 
ourselves ; "Transcendentally ,, as objects, phenomena, 
wholly and entirely constructed by the human mind 



PREFACE. 203 

from given matter, Sensation, produced by a Cause, 
noumenon, distinct from the mind. Our rose, for in- 
stance, "Transcendentally" considered, is not a thing in 
itself, per se,hx\i merely an INTUITION, a phenomenon, 
in fact, a mere appearance, composed of matter given to 
the mind, Sensation, and comprehended under the twelve 
"Categories;" thus constituting it an intelligible 
object, and being both in TIME and SPACE a decided 
object of nature, under the name — INTUITION — 
or mental representation. This identically self- same 
rose, "Logically" considered, is a distinct object of 
nature, per se, wholly independent of ourselves, and 
having the self- same existence whether perceived or 
not. In this assumption lies the logical illusion. To 
assert that the rose, which is merely a cluster of Sen- 
sations, can exist in its present appearance out of a 
mind, is to affirm that Seyisations can exist out of the 
Sentient — totally absurd, and sheer nonsense ! What ! 
a Sensation where sensations cannot exist ! — worse 
than madness ! Now, indeed, we have detected the 
false tricks which Logic has practised on ignorant man 
— making him fancy that his own notions are objects 
distinct from his own mind — a more palpable absurdity 
than converting inanimate matter into t /miking mind. 



204 PREFACE. 

Science, however, has at length set this matter at 
rest. We willingly grant to Logic the privilege of 
employing its own phraseology in its own way, provided 
it permits a more profound "Science" to translate this 
language so as to prevent all misconception. The 
astronomer is not annoyed by the unscientific language 
of every almanac, which states that the sun rises at 
such an hour and sets at such an hour, though this 
luminary is all the while stationary ; the illusion being- 
produced merely by our diurnal motion. The Logician, 
that is to say, the fireside philosopher, who never 
penetrates below the surface, will find his end fully 
answered in this loose phraseology, as it is the ordinary 
language of the world; and, indeed, it is very convenient, 
provided he does not impugn the more Scientific ter- 
minology of the Transcendentalist, who merely, with 
the privilege allowed to the astronomer and the chemist, 
translates these vulgarisms into the terms of his own 
vocabulary. Though common salt is dignified with the 
high epithet of muriate of soda, yet no confusion ensues. 
So, with our stone ivall, it hits just as hard when called 
INTUITION, and 

" that which we call a rose 
By any other name would smell as sweet." 



PREFACE. 205 

Thus we have two distinct languages — the language of 

Science and the language of the world — and yet all this 

without causing the least confusion. It would, indeed, 

be a pity to disturb the quiet possession of this harmless 

i 
treasure, merely to produce a lengthened phrase, but no 

real benefit : as, for instance, to say, " I shall depart 
at sunrise and return at sunset." So, indeed, it would 
be equally inconvenient, in asking for the book that 
lies on yonder slab, to use such distressing technics 
as — " Pray give me that INTUITION, comprehended 
under the CONCEPTION, which constitutes it Know- 
ledge, commonly called a volume of Shakspeare; or to 
request that lady to pass the muriate of soda" — The 
nature of the two Sciences will have two distinct 
languages : let nature then have her way — disturb 
nothing, but know all — and let each revel in the 
delight of his own fancied happiness. 

The "Philosophy of Mind," as a pure and strict 
Science, will have its own peculiar dialect ; and, being 
of a Constitutive nature, it must wholly construct our 
rose from matter given to the mind. The first im- 
pressions from an external Cause — noumenon — are 
received by Sense in its two mental receivers, TIME 
and SPACE, which impart the laws of Succession and 



206 PREFACE. 

Extension to the Sensation. Here end the effects of 
the Passive part of the mind — giving the form to the 
matter, as the mould communicates its shape to the 
wax. Understanding then commences its Active 
operations, by arranging this matter under the twelve 
Categories. The cluster of sensations which compose 
our rose is perfectly destitute of meaning prior to this 
subsumption, which takes place in the following order. 
First, the rose is a unity, being one object ; having 
many leaves, or parts, it is a multitude : these, being 
circumscribed by an outline, constitute it a totality. 
Here ends the operation of the first Triad. — The rose 
certainly addresses our senses while present, and must 
be considered as a reality. This is only possible by 
its being surrounded by negation. For, if we could not 
affirm that which is rose and deny that which is no rose, 
it could not be a knowable object : this very circum- 
stance produces limitation. This concludes the opera- 
tions of the second Triad. — But the rose, while we are 
looking at it, lasts in time and is permanent in space ; 
thus it is a substance, having accidents, that is, peculiar 
properties, which distinguish it from other objects. It 
was not always a rose, for I saw it a bud ; then it has 
blown on the tree, and is the effect of a cause. But 



PREFACE. 207 

I hold it in my hand, which determines its place in 
space ; for the reaction of my hand counteracts the 
action of gravity. This terminates the operations of 
the third constitutive Triad. 

Now, then, we have absolutely constructed a rose 
from given Sensations, merely, though unconsciously, 
by the operation of these Nine active powers. This 
process will be best proved by analysing any — nay, 
every — object of nature, for we definitively pronounce 
that not to be an object of nature which does not 
consist of the joint produce of these nine constitutive 
powers. Try the human Soul, for instance; though 
its existence never can be doubted, yet it will not 
rank under the " Categories." Hence it is no object 
of material nature in Time, but a pure, perfect, and 
immaterial Spirit residing in Eternity. 

Transcendentally, we have constructed the rose from 
given Sensations, and thus constituted it one of the 
objects of nature. There is still another operation 
to be performed, that is, to determine how the rose 
belongs to nature. Objects may form part of nature, 
like the inhabitants of the moon, without our knowing 
whether they exist or not. But, as the thought con- 
tains no contradiction, it proves its possibility. With 
regard to our rose, the case is very clear ; for, as we 



208 PREFACE. 

hold it in the hand, that proves its actual existence. 
Nothing, however, can exist which is not possible ; 
neither can it do otherwise than exist while it is present; 
and this proves its necessity. This final determination 
of the mode of existence of objects of nature is the last 
operation of the last Triad of Understanding. 

What Sense and Understanding have done in the 
construction of material nature, Reason accomplishes 
with regard to immaterial nature, that is, the Kingdom 
of Spirits. Here, however, a most striking difference 
must be remarked. Sense receives the given matter — 
Sensation — from a Cause — noumenon — totally dis- 
tinct from the mind, to which Sensation it communi- 
cates the properties of Extension and Succession, and, 
by a spontaneous act, concocts this given matter into 
INTUITION. This intuition remains an unintelligible 
object, till Understanding exerts its spontaneous 
activity, and arranges this given matter under its twelve 
Categories \ thus, not only giving it an intelligible 
form, but actually, by this mental process, constituting 
it one of the objects of material nature. 

In this manner NATURE is produced. 

With Reason the case is, indeed, very different. This 
pure Faculty has no occasion to wait till it is propelled 



PREFACE. 209 

into action from without, for all its resources lie already 
within the mind. It need, therefore, merely exert its 
own pure, spontaneous activity to produce all its ideas. 
What, then, are these pure materials out of which 
Reason constructs its ideas f When we are told that 
they are the " Categories " — which we already 
know to be perfectly pure principles, for they are the 
very constituent essences of the Understanding — 
we need no longer wonder at the exquisite purity and 
perfection of " Practical Reason/' — That the ideas 
formed by Reason may be pure, the materials of which 
they are composed must also be absolutely pure. But, 
as the purity of the Categories cannot be doubted, 
neither can the compounds of Reason — its IDEAS — 
be for one instant doubted. It is a most interesting 
occupation to trace the generation of these ideas from 
their pure sources, and all this without requiring any 
foreign aid. This process must then be as pure as the 
results, and carry with it the utmost Conviction of 
which the mind of man is susceptible, far surpassing 
the accuracy of mathematical conclusions, which involve 
TIME and SPACE; while these pure conclusions of 
Practical Reason quit the field of the Finite, and 
construct their own pure principles, which are wholly 



210 



PREFACE. 



mental, that is, perfectly "spiritual" and reside in the 
territory of the Infinite alone. These laws, being 
once awakened in the mind, are now and ever will be, 
what they ever have been, perfectly pure, that is, 
"divine ;" in fact they are emanations from the Deity, 
or, as we express it, the "Word of God" — laws 
which must be obeyed in spite of all the alluring 
seductions of Sense. The following table will display 
at one view this very important procedure of that high 
gift of the Almighty — " Reason." 



IDEAS op REASON, 



SHOWING THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY ARISE 


FROM THE 




CATEGORIES 

of 

UNDERSTANDING. 










12 CATEGORIES. 




QUANTITY. 


QUALITY. RELATION. 


MODALITY. 


Unity, 


Reality, Substance and Accident, 


Possibility, 


Multitude, 


Negation, Cause and Effect, 


Existence, 


Totality. 


Limitation. Action and Reaction. 


Necessity, 




6 IDEAS. 




QUANTITY. 


QUALITY. RELATION. 


MODALITY. 


Absolute 


Absolute Absolute 


Absolute 


Totality. 


Limitation. Substance. 

Absolute 
Cause. 

Absolute 
Concurrence. 


Necessity. 



PREFACE. 211 

Reason constructs the ideas of the Spiritual world 
in the same manner that Understanding constructs the 
intuitions of the Material world. The ideas of Reason, 
being wholly free from TIME and SPACE, can reside 
only in Eternity. Well, then, may Practical Reason 
be the author of the Moral Law, and all reasonable beings 
bound to obey its dictates, since it is the law of Reason 
itself. The ideas of Reason are the very roots from which 
all our notions of spiritual objects arise, and without 
which no such thoughts could enter the mind. They are 
indigenous in the soil of intellect. Hence the conclu- 
sions of Reason must be absolutely commanding for all 
rational beings. Thus Reason generates the ideas of 
the " Kingdom of Spirits " from spiritual matter already 
lying in the mind, and which constitutes its very ele- 
ments. But what can be more spiritual than the ideas 
which Reason constructs from these spiritual essences ! 

REASON SENSE and UNDERSTANDING 
generates the construct the 

IDEAS INTUITIONS 

oflhe ofthe 



SPIRITUAL WORLD 



MATERIAL WORLD. 



As neither intuitions nor ideas could possibly exist 
without the matter of which they are composed being 



212 PREFACE. 

given, what stronger proof can be desired of the 
existence of a Creator ! Who but a Creator could 
furnish the materials of which both intuition and idea 
are composed ! Hence the portion of information 
intended to be communicated to man by the first 
mental representation — INTUITION — is accurately 
conveyed — the order and regularity of the phenomena 
in TIME and SPACE, and the constant round which 
they perform — the oak and the acorn. The information 
intended to be conveyed by IDEAS is that which is 
communicated through the channel of the "MoralLaw," 
which must be considered sacred, as emanating from 
the Omnipotent, who communicates his will through 
this perfectly pure channel — the "Categories." — 
They are the matter of which Practical Reason 
constructs all the precepts which express the will or 
"Word of God," as revealed by Jesus Christ. All we 
know of the world of Sense is INTUITION ; but we 
know not the Cause out of the mind which produces 
Sensation. Here there is something known — the 
Sensation — and something not known, which is its 
Cause : this is called Knowledge a posteriori. All we 
know of the world of Reason is IDEA. Here, indeed, 
is a marked difference : in the knowledge of Reason 



PREFACE. 213 

all its resources lie in itself. The very matter of which 
it constructs its ideas is already in the mind — the 
" Categories ' ' — which are pure principles. What, then, 
but perfectly pure information can be furnished by 
them ! This is called Knowledge a priori, where both 
matter and form already lie in the mind. 

Logic proceeds in a very different manner. Totally 
regardless of this constitutive process, and finding an 
ample store of objects on which to exert its functions, 
it immediately proceeds to classify and regulate these 
ready-made objects of nature. It performs its opera- 
tions in a very simple way, by placing each finished 
object under only one member of each Triad. So 
that our rose will be arranged under its twelve Judg- 
ments in the .following order : 

QUANTITY. QUALITY. RELATION. MODALITY. 



Singular. 



Affirmative. 



Categorical. | Apodictical. 



One rose. Red rose. Subsisting rose. Absolute certainty. 

Logic, having established the twelve primitive Con- 
ceptions of Understanding as so many abstract 
notions, proceeds to arrange all nature into classes by 
its three primitive functions — Comparison, Reflection, 
Abstraction; in fact, it has no other way of pro- 
curing CONCEPTIONS from given INTUITIONS 

k2 



214 PREFACE. 

than by employing these universal conditions of all 
CONCEPTION. Thus, for instance — I see a fir, a 
willow, a lime ; first, I compare these objects together, 
and I perceive that they differ from each other, with 
respect to their trunks, their branches, their leaves, and 
so on. I next reflect upon that in which they agree, or 
which is common to them, namely, a trunk, branches, 
and leaves. Lastly, I abstract from the size, figure, 
and so on, of their different parts ; and in this manner 
I obtain the CONCEPTION of a Tree.— So, with 
our rose, Logic acknowledges it to be a ready-made 
object of nature, and accordingly classes it under the 
CONCEPTION — rose in general. 

The Judging Faculty exercises its functions in two 
ways. It is not more remarkable than true, that we have 
but three distinct kinds of unity upon which to employ 
the judging power — INTUITION, CONCEPTION, 
IDEA. The different manner of uniting these three 
wholes will explain the nature of those two operations. 
When the INTUITION is immediately united to the 
CONCEPTION, the first operation is apparent; for 
the one is included in the other, that is to say, 
the INTUITION, grass, is comprehended under the 
CONCEPTION, green ; which, with the third member, 



PREFACE. 215 

the copula, produces the Judgment — the grass is green. 
In all immediate judgments the subject and predicate 
are so intimately united that if you annul the one the 
other vanishes. 

Subject -f- Copula -J- Predicate = Judgment. 

Intuition -\- Connexion -f- Conception = Knowledge. 
Grass -j- is + Green == Green Grass. 



It must be abundantly evident that in all Knowledge 
the INTUITION, which is the matter of Knowledge, 
must stand in close and absolute connexion with the 
CONCEPTION, which is the form of Knowledge, or we 
should be reduced to the absurd position that there is 
matter without form — a total impossibility. Hence 
the necessity of this Triad. But we must also remark 
that the connexion of these two essential ingredients m 
Judging does not admit of the intervention of any 
other notion, and consequently they are called imme- 
diate judgments. They may also be called instinctive, 
allowing no choice — likewise Judgments of Under- 
standing and Sense. It will best suit our purpose 
to call them Judgments of u Sense," as every person 
perceiving "green grass" can have no choice, but 
must immediately acknowledge the fact, and generate 
our Triad as above. This fully explains the nature of 
the first mode of judging. 



216 PREFACE. 

We cannot be too particular in investigating the 
nature of the second mode of Judging. Here all the 
three unities are called into play in order to constitute 
a mediate judgment. If I assert that " Heautontimo^ 
rumenos can carry a man," we have before us an 
affirmative judgment ; but certainly one that is neither 
self-evident nor instinctive ; for this judgment requires 
a proof in order to obtain universal assent. This 
proof must be sought for, which act implies choice, 
that is, we must select from among our stock of 
Knowledge a CONCEPTION that equally relates to 
both subject and predicate. Till this is done, all is dark 
and dreary nothingness. The power, however, to choose 
CONCEPTIONS at pleasure is the peculiar property of 
Reason. Here no instinct avails. In this gift we far 
outstrip the brute. If we are fortunate in finding the 
proper CONCEPTION that bears upon the case, the 
difficulty is solved ; till then, the thing is in utter 
darkness, and appears to be totally inexplicable. Thus 
our earth was for very many centuries considered as 
the immoveable centre of the universe. This judgment 
was firmly believed to be both correct and true ; but it 
was neither the one nor the other. Yet Logic was 
satisfied with the false appearance. At length en- 



PREFACE. 217 

lightenment found a CONCEPTION that overturned 
this error, and established the truth. So, with our 
" stone wall " and all the other objects of nature, the 
CONCEPTION is now discovered that proves them 
to be merely mental represe?itations — technically, 
INTUITIONS. 

It is vain and fruitless to hope to give the faintest 
idea of the immensity and importance of the discovery, 
that the objects of nature are merely " mental repre- 
sentations." Who would think that the discovery of 
this CONCEPTION alone would be the means of making 
both Jew, Gentile, and Infidel, sincere and absolute 
" Christians !" But such is the fact ! If we feel a peculiar 
satisfaction in knowing that Copernicus found out the 
CONCEPTION in the one case, what shall we say of the 
discovery in the other, where a single CONCEPTION 
proves to every rational being that he must from 
Conviction be a truly devout and pious Christian ! 
Language is at fault in the attempt to do justice to a 
discovery like this. The being is not yet born who dare 
presume to anticipate results whose very extent would 
overwhelm him. Who dare presume to say that what 
our "Lord" asserted two thousand years ago shall not 
take place : " that the Gospel shall be preached to all 



218 PREFACE. 

the nations of the earth!" "Oh! let our eyes be 
enlightened to discern the things that are excellent, 
and no longer be imposed upon by fantastic appear- 
ances, which, however pompous they may seem, will 
prove more empty than the visions of the night, more 
transient than the dream that is forgotten !" 

The judgment — " the gTass is green" — is decided 
by inspection as well by brutes as men, which is, 
indeed, evinced by the browsing steer, and is positive 
instinct in both. Not so, however, the judgment — 
" Heautontimorumenos can carry a man" Here the 
brute declines to interfere; and unless man is fortunate 
enough to discover the proof of the assertion, that is, 
the appropriate CONCEPTION — which equally refers 
to subject and predicate, and forms the union or con- 
nexion which constitutes it a judgment — his ignorance 
is complete. This again verifies our Triune Principle. 
The instant man hits upon this CONCEPTION all is 
light. Only explain to him that Heautontimorumenos 
is a horse, and he feels that the true CONCEPTION, the 
key to the mystery, is discovered. This second mode of 
procedure of the Judging Faculty we have proved to be 
beyond the power of Sense, and only to be performed 
by Reason. 



PREFACE. 219 

Logically, this procedure is termed Syllogism, Its 
members are distributed into three distinct judgments, 
under the terms of major, minor, conclusion, and for- 
mally run thus : 



Major All horses can carry a man. 

Minor Hbautontimorumenos is a horse. 

Conclusion. . . Therefore, Heautontimorumenos can carry a man. 

On analysing this process, we find that it consists of 
only three members, repeated twice over — as displayed 
above. First, the INTUITION — Heautontimorumenos; 
secondly, the CONCEPTION— horse ; and, lastly, the 
IDEA — including every thing that can carry a man. 
The connecting link between the subject and predicate 
is called the middleterm. 

We proposed the preceding judgment to show that, 
until the discovery of the proper middleterm, every 
thing is perfectly dark and unintelligible. We also 
insisted that the analysis of this procedure would not 
only explain the difference between immediate and 
mediate judgments, but also display the manner in 
which Reason proceeds in forming Syllogisms or 
Conclusions, and still further confirm our assertion 
that it is impossible to judge either by Sense or 
Reason, without involving, in all cases, the very 

k5 



220 PREFACE. 

essence of the Triune Principle. This analysis will 
fully explain the way in which Reason acts in its 
judgments, that is to say, in all its Conclusions. We 
have already stated that all the resources of Reason 
lie within the mind. In its Practical use, therefore, 
it cannot err, provided it fulfils the demands of Logic. 
In the affirmative judgment — " the Soul is Spirit" 
— we naturally demand a proof. For this purpose 
we search for a CONCEPTION that is equally related 
to subject and predicate; and, until this discovery 
is made, the proposition remains a mere assertion. Let 
us, however, try if the CONCEPTION — rational — 
will answer the purpose. In the first place, whatever 
reasons must be mind and not matter. It would, 
indeed, astonish us to be told that matter could reason. 
This is a great point gained ; for now we perceive that 
whatever is rational is at the same time spiritual. So 
much fitness we have at length discovered that the 
soul is not material ; therefore, it must be spiritual. 
On a former occasion we attempted to rank the 
soul under the Categories — but without effect ; for 
the soul, not being a Sensation, that is, matter, it was 
indeed a vain and fruitless attempt. By this touchstone 
we discovered the spirituality of the soul, that is, its 



PREFACE. 



221 



absolute immateriality . The truth of this position will be 
completely proved by employing the CONCEPTION — 
rational — as a bridge of communication between subject 
and predicate. The following display exhibits the three 
primitive ingredients of Syllogism — INTUITION, 
CONCEPTION, IDEA — which Logic employs in the 
form of an equation, by doubling each term j thus : 

JUDGMENTS of REASON 

are 

conclusions or mediate judgments, 

and comprehend an 
INTUITION under a CONCEPTION, and these under an IDEA. 



INTUITION, 

Subject. 



•pvedica^ 



CONCEPTION, 

Middleterm. 



IDEA, 

Predicate. 



\&Meter n 




ciibiect. 



SOUL. 1 : 

fnitv 



altitude* 



Totality 




These, Logically arranged in pairs, produce the following legitimate 
SYLLOGISM. 

Predicate .... All that is Rational is Spirit. M. P. major. 
Middleterm .... The Soul is Rational. S. M. minor. 

Subject. . Therefore- The Soul is Spirit. S. P. conclusion. 



The above explanation is merely logical, but yet 
strictly correct ; for it shows that a Conclusion consists 



222 PREFACE. 

of three distinct judgments. In the major, the Middle- 
term and the Predicate are compared; in the minor, 
the Subject and Middleterm ; and in the conclusion, 
the Subject and Predicate. It must, however, never 
be forgotten that Logic is only a " Dogmatical Science/' 
which is content to assume things and take them as 
true. It may throw great light on this important 
subject to examine well into the nature and essence of 
a " Conclusion of Reason." If we refer to the above 
diagram, it will be evident on inspection that, when this 
intricate logical operation is reduced to its primitive 
elements, it turns out to be a simple equation, consisting 
of duplicates of INTUITION, CONCEPTION, IDEA. 
Now, as the proof of all equations consists in the per- 
fect equality of the sides, this mighty logical conundrum 
is thus shown to be the simplest mental act in the pure 
mathematics. 

The preceding example is, in fact, the only genuine, 
true, and legitimate " Conclusion of Reason," not- 
withstanding the immense erudition which has been 
lavished on this simple form of Syllogis?n, by torturing, 
twisting, and tormenting, these three simple elements 
into millions of inexplicable and useless contortions and 
logical figures. Bacon justly vents his spleen against 



PREFACE. 223 

the scholastic absurdity of introducing " so many bar- 
barous terms and phrases into Logic, which run it so 
much into dry and futile subtilties, more calculated to 
exercise the mind in wrangling and disputation than to 
assist it in thinking correctly." All this useless know- 
ledge and waste of intellect will in future be entirely 
dispensed with, though the lasting memorial of this 
learned folly is to be traced in almost all our treatises 
on Logic, too well known by the distressing and miser- 
able doggerel Latin lines : 

" Barbara, Celarent, Darii, Ferioque, prioris: 
Cessare, Camestres, Festino, Baroco, secundse: 
Tertia, Darapti, sibi atque Felapton, 
Adjungens Disamis, Datisi, Bocardo, Ferison, 
Bramantip, Camenes, Dimaris, Fresapo, Fresison, 
Sunt quartae : at Quini, totidem generalibus orti, 
Nomen habent nullum, nee si bene colligas usum." 

Many a student has beaten his brains to a mummy 
over this barbaric monument of useless learning. Thus, 
then, have we disposed of all the idolized ginicraeks 
and tinse] finery that have for so many centuries occu- 
pied the first-rate talents and the most splendid minds, 
only to disfigure Syllogism and puzzle each other. 
They must henceforth be swept from the face of the 
earth.— What all? " Yes, all! at one fell swoop." 
Now, indeed, we have restored the only legitimate $yl- 



224 PREFACE. 

logism of Aristotle to its pristine vigour and primitive 
purity. 

Hence it is evident that we have reduced the opera- 
tions of the Judging Faculty to two modes of judging : 
immediate, that is, instinctive — mediate, that is, deli- 
berative. This must be allowed to be a prodigious 
simplification of the " Science of Logic," which has 
hitherto been buried under the rubbish of a mass of 
incongruous terms and absurd distinctions, giving to 
the simplest "Science" in nature the appearance of 
favouring the black cert, by overreaching the unwary 
and puzzling common honesty, instead of employing 
this Canon of Understanding and Reason as the 
only legitimate guide to secure our eternal welfare and 
finally conduct us to the Throne of Grace. Here, then, 
the most superficial thinker is compelled to acknow- 
ledge that, when he judges of the most insignificant 
thing in the world, he is a living evidence of the cor- 
rectness of our assertion that a Triad of Principles 
is the ground of every act of his Judging Faculty, and 
that consequently a single thought is impossible ; for 
judging and thinking are synonymous, and each con- 
sists of subject, predicate, and copula, or to think is 
vain. What a powerful proof does this afford of the 



PREFACE. 



225 



Triune Principle ! Deprive either of these modes of 
judging of this elementary Triad and the Judging 
Faculty is annihilated, as is fully evinced on a bare 
inspection of the subjoined tabular display : 

JUDGMENTS 

of , 



REASON 



consist of 



SENSE 



THREE THREE 

Members, Members, 

Subject, middleterm, Predicate, Subject, copula, Predicate, 

and produce and produce 



CONVICTION, 



DEMONSTRATION, 



which is faith in things not seen, or the which is belief in things seen, or the evi- 
evidence of dence of 

REASON. SENSE. 

We surely must now have amply made out our case, 
and fully proved, to the absolute conviction of every 
individual capable of exercising his Judging Faculty, 
that the Triune Principle forms not only the very 
essence of all thinking, but that the great instrument 
of thought — the Mind — actually is a compound of 
Triads, and can alone inhabit the region of Eternity, 
where its Author must exist in all his perfection, and 
constitute the very essence of the " Divine Origin" 
of all thinking. 



226 PREFACE. 

Ci)e distinction fcttfomt totmct anil 3&t%#on 

settled for ever. 

The leading distinction between material and spiritual 
nature is that " matter moves, spirit thinks" However 
strong the resemblance of the two principles of motion 
and thought may appear to be, yet they really are 
distinct essences. In order that motion should become 
apparent to Sense we must behold hvo material things 
whose relation to each other is in a state of change, 
otherwise we have no evidence of motion whatever. 

MOTION is the alteration of the external relations between 
any two objects of NATURE. 

The observance of this effect is an instinctive act of 
Sense, over which Reason has no control. Here the 
Judgment of Sense decides necessarily with its three 
members, suhject , predicate, copula ; and, if the object 
that moves is perceived by a million spectators, they 
must all agree instinctively. For this instinctive act 
our Triune Principle is indispensable. 

On the other hand, the act of thinking always implies 
choice, as we can think of what we choose, for it is 
the mere act of connecting, out of the store of our 



PREFACE. 227 

CONCEPTIONS, such as will construct the object we 
have in view — for instance, a poem — Paradise Lost, 
with all its angels and ideal machinery. 

THOUGHT is the act of joining one Conception to another. 

The highest species of thinking is conducted by that 
unerring rule of Logic, " Syllogism $" and here it is 
evident that we always have a choice in selecting the 
middleterm that leads to the conclusion. This act 
requires deliberation, and is directly opposed tolNSTiNCT. 
Hence we may infer that 



JUDGMENTS 



cf 




REASON SENSE 

admit of choice admit of no choice 



DELIBERATION. 



INSTINCT. 



But, as we have already stated that matter is sensa- 
tion, all judgments which regard Sensation must of 
course be judgments of " Sense," over which Reason 
has no control. This marked distinction between judg- 
ments of Sense and judgments of Reason is not only 
very decided with regard to our own acts and deeds, by 
pointing out which part of our nature acts Instinctively, 



228 PREFACE. 

but it is absolutely conclusive with regard to the whole 
creation. By this single test we are enabled to deter- 
mine, in the most positive and undeniable manner, that 
every particle of matter acts by the unerring rule of 
instinct, and that man alone in the gift of Judgment 
evinces Freedom. Animals do not judge, but uniformly 
act in strict conformity to their unerring guide, Instjnct. 

" Whether with Reason or with Instinct blest, 
Know all enjoy that power which suits them best ; 
And Reason raise o'er Instinct as you can — 
In this 'tis God directs, in that 'tis Man." 

The latter line of our immortal bard evidently alludes 
to Speculative Reason. Here man wanders about 
in uncertainty, to accomplish an unattainable end — his 
own Happiness. But, as he cannot accomplish it here 
below, he turns his thoughts to things above, and exerts 
his sublimer faculty — Practical Reason. What 
animal ever muses on a world to come, or pants for the 
immortal crown of glory — the reward of the virtuous? 
Man alone ! How incomparably sweeter are the pure 
feelings of the upright heart, though weighed down 
with trying difficulties, than those of the overbearing 
and unjust, even when pampered with every earthly 
luxury ! The virtuous on all occasions pursues the 



PREFACE. 229 

direct line of duty, as revealed to his inmost soul by 
that emanation of Deity, " Practical Reason ; " while 
the vicious, disregarding this unerring monitor, strains 
every nerve in the misuse of Speculative Reason, to 
accomplish that unattainable object, Perfect Happiness 
here below. The subordination of all our desires to 
the law of Practical Reason alone shows the high 
prerogative of man. 

It must ever be remembered that, when we are 
selecting from among the phenomena of nature objects 
that are to accomplish our design, we are only collecting 
INTUITIONS, under the guidance of Speculative 
Reason. Thus, if we desire to augment our fortune 
by a prize in the Lottery, we attentively consult the 
doctrine of chances, or, what is more frequent, dream 
of the lucky number. Now, as we are not the author 
of nature, it is possible we may err in our choice. This 
has too often been confirmed by the dreadful mono- 
syllable — " Blank." Practical Reason, on the other 
hand, never can err, for it is pure Science, which is 
confirmed by Conviction, and whose contrary is impos- 
sible. Take for example the mental cube — to which 
we have already referred ; we find its truth and accuracy 
so great that it defies all cavil. The definite root of 



230 PREFACE. 

this cube is an indefinite line, a, b, which not only forms 
the first line in the cube, but the motion of this line 
generates each of its sides, and all the measures parallel 
to itself are as equal as the radii of the circle, for they 
are identically the same straight line. This is pure 
Science, whose contrary is impossible. But convert this 
perfect cube into an INTUITION, and all its correct- 
ness has fled. Nature never presents us with a perfect 
surface or an absolutely straight line. Thus pure 
Science may well be said to be pure principle, and 
empirical Science mere matter of fact. 

But when Speculative Reason, in its restless 
sportiveness, amuses itself with this innocent mathe- 
matical figure — having first of all rendered it sensible 
by filling this mental framework with matter, as box- 
wood, or the more delicate material furnished by the 
elephant's tusk, and ingeniously numbered its sides 
by little dots from one to six, and then constructed a 
counterpart — it exclaims, "We have here a pair of dice !" 
The direful consequences that have too often followed 
an inordinate fondness for the game of dice are too well 
known and too severely lamented to need recording 
here — nay, has not suicide often terminated the life of 
the rash adventurer who has staked his all on the cast 



PREFACE. 231 

of a die ! Now what is this but an inordinate gratifi- 
cation of Sense to the detriment of Reason ; too strong 
an evidence of choice in the unfortunate victim ; and a 
sad departure from the honest instinct of our nature ! 
How beautifully has our Saviour expounded this doc- 
trine^ when, in his powerfully impressive language, he 
says : " He who indulges in the sinful lusts of the flesh 
abandons himself to the Devil; but he that doth the 
will of the Father renders himself acceptable to God \" 

To fulfil the Doctrine of the Gospel, REASON is requisite. 

Of all animals man alone evinces the slightest desire 
to comprehend this "Divine Revelation," and for 
this plain reason, that others are deficient in the re- 
quisite faculty, having no freedom of choice, while all 
their actions are guided by a necessary instinct. But 
what Reason is it that man exerts for this glorious 
end? — Surely not that Reason which by excess se- 
duced man to his own ruin ? No ! the purer, brighter, 
and godlike faculty, which partakes of the very nature 
of our Heavenly Father, being purely Spiritual : its 
end is goodness, and all its acts are virtue. This Reason 
is the divine faculty, without which the " Holy Gospel" 
would be a mere dead letter, which could never raise 



232 PREFACE. 

the soul to such aspirations as " Thy kingdom come, 
thy will be done ! " 

Hence, among all God's creatures, it is man alone 
who has a soul to be saved — man alone who has the 
freedom of choice — - man alone who pants for an here- 
after. Why? — Because man alone is endowed with 
" Practical Reason/' the sure guide to realms of 
never-ending bliss, which not only explains to his own 
soul what duties are required of him, but also distinctly 
acquaints him with the issue of his actions, by bringing 
them in review before that Sacred Tribunal, " Con- 
science," which either acquits or condemns, in the most 
unequivocal manner — not the action performed here in 
Time, but the motive, which exists only in Eternity. 

Will any one venture to affirm even that inferior 
animals are so superiorly gifted ! The instances we 
can adduce to establish the converse are so numerous 
and so convincing that we defy all attempts to maintain 
the assertion. The grand distinction between man and 
animal then is : 

MAN ANIMAL 

is endowed with is endowed with 



REASON. 



INSTINCT. 



PREFACE. 233 

Now, the importance of the distinction between Reason 
and Instinct cannot be too powerfully enforced, for it 
constitutes the only ground of difference between Man 
and AnimaLj and proves most decidedly not only that 
Man is the superior Animal, but that, by virtue of his 
superlative faculty — Reason — he necessarily becomes 
the u Scope of Creation." To explain this distinction 
still more clearly, we should say : 



MAN JUDGES. ANIMALS ACT. 

JUDGMENT ACTION 

requires requires 




DELIBERATION. 



PROPULSION. 



Man is the only animal capable of acting Inferior animals act unconsciously, in con- 
front the bare representation of a law. sequence of the direct influence of a law. 

The nail never reasons with the hammer, even when 
it does not obey this law of force, its opposition being 
the result of another law — that of resistance. Man is 
conscious of his powers ; and in his moral conduct he 
is conscious of the Moral Law — that is, "the Word 
of God." This laiv commands strict obedience, and 
shows the distinction between right and wrong. That 
action is right which is in perfect accordance with the 
law of Practical Reason, and performed out of reve- 



234 PREFACE. 

rence for this pure law of God. Surely no one will 
pretend to endow the brute with purity like this ! His 
most refined Instinct is but an instrument in the hand 
of his Creator — a hammer and chisel in the hand of a 
Phidias. It is true that angels have no power to dis- 
obey this law of their Rational Nature, wanting the 
seducements to transgress : hence they are Holy Beings. 
But man, in his probationary state, is plunged into a 
vortex of difficulties, to prove his claim to higher 
regions. Virtue is the victory of Reason over the 
sinful lusts of the flesh; Vice is the ascendancy of 
Sense, or the perversion of God's "Holy Laiv" which 
subjects the inclinations to the guidance of Reason. 
Yet let it not be supposed even that it implies any 
servility in Reason to obey a law. Know, then, that 
it obeys no other law than that of which it is itself the 
Author ; and it would most assuredly be very irrational 
to make laws merely to break them. Hence Man is 
Free> and has the power to fulfil the laws of his 
own Reason, and defy all nature to interpose. How 
sublimely is this doctrine expounded in "Holy Writ!" 
— " Love worketh no ill to his neighbour, therefore, love 
is the fulfilling of the law : awake then, cast off the 
works of darkness, and put on the armour of light. " 



PREFACE. 235 

From the preceding reasoning, it must be abundantly 
evident that it far exceeds the power of matter to think, 
that is, to act voluntarily, being in its very nature inert 
and motionless till moved by other matter. Not so 
spirit, which waits not till it is impelled, but acts 
spontaneously and of its own accord. Could matter 
originate the "Moral Law?" — No; here we must 
positively have mind, and that, too, of the very first 
order. What but Practical Reason is capable of 
evolving from its own nature a law so pure, so com- 
manding, that nothing short of that Divine Faculty, 
Reason, has the power to contemplate, to comprehend, 
and to execute, its divine commandments ! — Here, 
indeed, inert matter shrinks in the comparison ; and 
so does animal instinct, which is on a par with matter, 
having been made as perfect at its creation as it will 
be till its extinction. In fact, the Animal, Vegetable, 
and Mineral, Kingdoms are all three governed by 
necessary and instinctive laws, leaving mind free as 
air to proceed in its voluntary and spontaneous course 
ever to approximate in purity its Divine Author, and 
finally to nestle and centre in the very bosom of God ! 
After such an elaborate argument, which permanently 
establishes the distinction between Mind and Matter, 

L 



236 



PREFACE. 



we surely may venture to display the impassable barrier 
that for ever separates Spirit from Matter, in the fol- 



lowing tabular form : 
SPIRIT 

THINKS, 

is 

FREE. 



SPONTANEITY. 





MATTER 

MOVES, 

is 

IMPELLED. 




COMPULSION. 











Now for our interminable string of proofs, collected 
from by-gone ages, and confirmed by the refulgent 
blaze of intellect that marks the present era. — That 
atmospheric air is necessary for the preservation of life 
no one doubts. It is also equally well known that this 
requisite of existence is a compound of vital air and 
mephitic gas. Suppose the atmosphere to consist wholly 
of vital air, it would destroy not only life itself but all 
the substances in nature. To correct this effect, there 
exists a portion of mephitic gas, the property of which 
is to extinguish vitality. The excess of either is death 
to every thing. Therefore, we should say that it is the 
instinctive property of the one air to promote life, and 
of the other to extinguish it. Thus the assigned quan- 
tity of animated and inert matter is produced by the 
due admixture of these opposite instinctive qualities. 



PREFACE. 237 

This beautiful arrangement of Providence arises simply 
from the struggle of these contending instincts ; and is 
finally brought into perfect harmony by that universal 
law of nature, action and reaction, which not only 
uniformly exerts itself to produce a perfect equilibrium 
but still further clenches the argument we have ad- 
vanced in favour of the Triune Principle. 

LIFE is animated matter, DEATH is inanimate matter. 

Life, then, is matter actuated by instinctive motion j 
death is matter operated upon by instinctive rest. Thus 
we perceive that every particle of matter is impressed 
at its creation with a power that may well be termed 
instinct, being wholly free from choice or deliberation. 
Each particle of matter is therefore constrained to obey 
its own instinctive law, which amounts to absolute 
necessity. However prone we may be to attributey&dg- 
ment to inferior animals, we here evidently commit 
as great an error as if we were to assert that inani- 
mate matter exercised this function. What, then, 
guides our decision % — Science ! And what but the pro- 
gressive advancement of Reason brings new Sciences 
to light! In less enlightened times it was customary 

to regard the storm as an expression of the anger of 

l2 



238 PREFACE. 

God, and its fatal effects as marking the vengeance of 
the Deity. Thanks to enlightenment, this prejudice 
has entirely mouldered away ; and Science determines 
that the storm is an instinctive effort of each particle of 
matter to obey its original laiv, and thus, by restoring 
a disturbed equilibrium, forwards the grand scheme of 
nature — a perfect equation. 

It would be difficult at the present day to persuade 
any one, on beholding those large, congregated masses 
of that useful and abundant element, water, that it 
exerts a Judging Faculty, and is actuated by direful 
revenge, when in its infuriate and agitated state it hurls 
destruction around, and seems to delight in demolishing 
the careful and studied labour of man, as it were to 
appease its wrath and assuage its anger. The fabled 
monsters of the deep have lost their influence, and 
honest instinct has assumed the reins. Yet in these 
enlightened times our wonder is moved to hear it said 
that the tiger deliberately plans the destruction of 
his foe — man — while he is instinctively in search of 
food. 

No Animal JUDGES but Man. 

The line of demarcation between Reason and Instinct 
is now fully determined by modern improvements in 



PREFACE. 239 

the " Science of Mind." Thus it is : matter moves, and 
is impelled by some extraneous cause. Spirit thinks, 
and acts voluntarily from its own intrinsic cause. 
Matter is governed by Instinct, and is wholly uncon- 
scious of its state. Mind is a Judging Power, wholly 
conscious of its state, that is, governed by Reason. 
Now, as Reason is spirit, it is quite evident that it is 
neither extended nor successive, consequently it cannot 
inhabit the blue field of our Diagram, which is entirely 
appropriated to matter ; but it can be found only in 
that perfectly pure and infinite abode of spirits desig- 
nated by the numberless yellow rays. 

MATTER obeys the law of INSTINCT. 
MIND obeys the law of REASON. 

The prejudice to be rooted out is that of supposing 
that matter thinks, merely through inattention and 
taking appearance for truth. Instinctive acts, under 
similar circumstances, are uniform, and never show any 
progress or improvement. The first drop of created 
water made the same effort to find its level as that of 
to-day, and carefully sought how to effect this end. 
Yet it did not think ! Take the following illustration : 

In days of yore old iEsop made his frogs hold council 
and elect their king. We are not forbidden in modern 



240 PREFACE. 

times to imagine inanimate things in deep debate. So 
some friendly waterbutts, willing to live harmoniously 
together, thus began : — " Why should I bear all the 
burthen, and have all my staves strained with this im- 
mense weight of water, while you are indulging in the 
playfulness of the thinner air, being nearly empty? Does 
not equity demand a mutual endurance of our burthens V y 
" Yes, surely, brother ; and if you consent not to force 
more upon me than justice sanctions, I agree to take 
my share." " Now, then, let us construct tubes of 
communication to effect this noble end \" — This done, 
the overburdened were instantly relieved, and equity 
was the sole law that governed this community. For 
nature, when the obstruction was removed, instantly 
exerted its favourite law, and produced a perfect equa- 
tion, one tub bearing the water to the same level as all 
the others. How nearly allied to thinking is this in- 
stinctive act of matter ! 

Man is the only animal on the face of the earth that 
is endowed with the power of "Judging;" all other 
animals only act instinctively, as they are propelled 
either by natural wants from within or by external 
impulse from without. The illusion of attributing 
judgment to animals arises wholly from mistaking 



PREFACE. 241 

instinctive acts for free choice. This is, indeed, very 
excusable ; for our own animal part is governed by the 
same instinctive laws. The difference between man 
and animal with regard to their material part is exactly 
this : man is conscious of his instinctive act, the animal 
is not. But the essential and important truth which 
flows from this distinction is indeed awful. For, 
however similar they may be in their physical wants, 
desires, and inclinations, yet the marked and memorable 
difference between them lies in this : 

MAN is an accountable being, ANIMAL is not. 

Truly momentous, indeed, is this striking difference ; 
it is grounded in the acknowledged fact that man is 
endowed with Reason, the animal not. The material 
part of man moves, that is, acts instinctively ; so does 
the material part of the animal. Here then they are 
alike — both machines propelled to action by an external 
cause. Reason needs no external impulse, as it acts 
spontaneously. Hence man is free, that is, he can 
commence a series of events. Reason can form plans 
and execute them, whether they tend to promote the 
well-being of the world or to hurl its inhabitants to 
destruction — powerful evidence of absolute freedom. 



242 PREFACE. 

Every indication of choice is exhibited to Sense in 
that well known toy, the magic swan. When this 
effigy of animality is on the verge of the sphere of 
attraction, the child cries — " La, mamma ! it is afraid 
to be caught — only look how it hesitates whether to 
take the bread or not ! " But, when in the full tide of 
attraction, the child is assured of re-established con- 
fidence, and yet intends to outwit the would-be swan, 
he suddenly reverses the pole, and discovers every 
symptom of displeasure in the disappointed bird. Oh ! 
fatal ignorance in the adult to be played upon by 
appearance — because the dog catches at roast beef 
and refuses a stone. Is there the slightest difference in 
the two cases ! — are they not equally acts of Instinct, 
grounded in the very nature of matter — to obey the 
law of the strongest impulse ! I have heard it asserted 
that mind can move matter — but surely not without 
the intervention of mind. The generalissimo evidently 
commands through the intervention of mind. At the 
word " March ! " — all his myrmidons are in motion. But 
let the same electric word be repeated to the same 
body of men when lying breathless on the bed of 
honour, and it proves entirely powerless. Hence we 
may infer that mind acts on mind, and that matter acts 



PREFACE. 243 

on matter. So that to think is the proof of spirit, and 
to move is the proof of matter. This brings us back to 
the poet's query : 

" Has matter more than motion? has it thought?" 

Instinctive acts are uniform, and never show any 
progressive improvement. The first bee deposited its 
winter store in as perfect a hexagon cell as the bee of 
to-day, though he might have gleaned experience from 
the innumerable bygone centuries of his interminable 
predecessors. Not so man — he surpasses the instinct 
of animals in possessing choice, as is evinced by his 
daily progress in science. Adam was unacquainted 
with the vast and overpowering effects produced by 
steam, nor was the garden of Eden illumined by gas. 
Yet what are the boasted discoveries of the nineteenth 
century, when compared with the development of 
Reason in the two millionth ! The magnitude of the 
thought almost annihilates us in the contemplation, 
and proves to Conviction that man is endowed with a 
power different, indeed, in its nature from animal 
instinct. What is this power ? — Reason ! 

Now, as instinct acts from foreign impulse, and as 
Reason is different from this power, it must of neces- 
sity act uninfluenced by other powers. Hence it follows 

l5 



244 



PREFACE. 



no other laws than those which emanate from itself : 
thus Reason is wholly free from every effect of nature 
whatsoever, and obeys no other laws than those of its 
own constitution. The objects of instinct are palpable 
to Sense, while those of Reason, being wholly un- 
influenced by Sense, must be insensible, that is, 
imperceptible, by Sense : then they must be spiritual, 

REASON is the faculty of drawing conclusions. 

But, as conclusions have never been witnessed by 
Sense, they must of course be spiritual essences, 
confirmed by Reason. Reason, therefore, is quite 
distinct from the other two faculties of the mind, Sense 
and Understanding. 



REASON 


is a 


POWER 


in 


MIND, 


which 


originates laws, 


and produces 



FREEDOM. 



INSTINCT 



is a 
POWER 



MATTER, 

which 

obeys laws, 

and evinces 



NECESSITY. 



The importance of the subject demands the utmost 
attention \ for, should a fundamental error any where lie 



PREFACE. 245 

concealed, all the reasoning we have exhibited with so 
much formality will be entirely abortive, and a new 
investigation must be instituted. This will account for 
our pursuing the subject to so great a length, in order 
to give every opportunity for the detection of hidden 
errors or concealed subtilties. 

The great fault committed in reasoning on the subject 
of instinct is the usual logical blunder of taking that to 
be true which only appears to be so, but really is not. 
Thus we err in assuming that the sagacious Elephant 
reasons, because in unloading his panniers and placing 
the barrels in the boat he adroitly finds a pebble to 
prevent their rolling apart — is this more than instinct f 
— No ! — it is nothing more than a direct act to obtain 
a certain end, and is as free from choice as the power 
instilled into every drop of water to find its level. Every 
particle of steel filings shows as much love and affection 
for one pole of the magnet as it does antipathy to the 
other. Instances of this distressing logical blunder 
may be multiplied to an enormous extent. 

A more beautiful exemplification of the instinctive 
power in matter cannot well be conceived than is 
afforded to the spectators of the feats of horsemanship 
in the Circus. When the horse and the rider are 



246 PREFACE. 

quiescent, the particles of matter of which they are 
composed obey the direct law of gravitation, and 
arrange themselves in perpendicular lines to the centre 
of gravity. But, the instant they are put in motion, 
they are acted upon by two opposing laws — the 
centrifugal and the centripetal forces. Hence these 
very same particles assume a new direction, and form an 
angle proportionate to the velocity, with an instinctive 
view of preserving the great law of nature — a perfect 
equilibrium. 

What, however, is still more imposing, and also 
forms a more complete proof of our theory, is that if 
the rider is engaged in throwing up a marble, intending 
to catch it again in a quart bottle, he takes no pains to 
calculate where he shall be when the marble returns to 
the bottle : for the instinctive law in matter saves him 
this trouble. He merely throws up the marble as if he 
stood still — nature does the rest. How exquisitely 
beautiful to find even a detached piece of matter — the 
marble — strictly obeying its own instinctive law, though 
detached from man and horse ! Otherwise we should 
be compelled to say the horse reasoned, for he also 
obeys the law of nature instinctively planted in matter. 
He even does this with the utmost mathematical pre- 



PREFACE. 



247 



cision : for he falls exactly into that inclination from 
the perpendicular which secures his outward limbs 
from being overpowered by the centrifugal force, and 
his inward side from destruction by the centripetal 
force — and all this without the aid of Reason, yet in 
strict conformity with the one supreme and original 
law of nature — a perfect equilibrium — that is, an 
equation consisting of two equals and their connexion, 
or a "Trinity in Unity." 

Thus, then, when we asserted that the horse and the 
rider, as parts of matter, were quiescent, we merely 
conformed to the established prejudice of " taking 
appearance for truth." For how can any thing which 
is flowing down the stream of Time be quiescent ! 
Not so with spirit, which is totally excluded from this 
sphere, and can reside only in Eternity. If the base 
of a mathematical triangle is removed, will the two 
sides show any propensity to approximate towards each 
other ? — Certainly not. These two lines, being sides 
or principles of a triangle, will remain for ever per- 
manently fixed in the position mentally given to them, 
or we should have the radii of a circle running after 
one another, as the hind wheels of a carriage do after 
their precursors. Thus all principle, which must be in 



248 



PREFACE. 



Eternity, is permanent ; and all matter, which must 
be in Time, is changeable. 



SPIRIT 

inhabits 

ETERNITY, 

and is 



MATTER 

resides in 

TIME, 

and is 





PERMANENT. 



CHANGEABLE. 



If we only dip into the nature of chemical affinity, 
we shall be wonderfully struck with the surprising 
coincidence between the motion of the various particles 
of matter and the analogous operation in pure intelli- 
gence — thinking in spirit. The solution of copper in 
aquafortis, which gives the decorative green tint to the 
liquid in the shops, we might say exhibits the happy 
picture of an harmonious society, where all the members 
enjoy perfect tranquillity. Yet introduce to the notice 
of the reigning queen of this blissful state the parent of 
those brilliant stars so exquisitely enchanting in the 
pyrotechnic art — zinc — and the regal court is ex- 
clusively formed of patricians precipitating the plebeian 



PREFACE/ 249 

mob to the confines of her domain; or, in humbler 
phrase zinc precipitates all the particles of copper, 
merely because the chemical affinity is the stronger. 
Morally we should say, we endured that society for want 
of more enlightened companions. Could man do more ! 

This divine law — instinct — infused into matter at 
its birth, is splendidly displayed by the fibrous roots of 
the vegetable kingdom, which select from the surround- 
ing matter only such particles as tend to nourish the 
parent stem, for the purpose of unfolding the embryo 
beauties which lie concealed in the original germ, till 
the fascinating flower charms the sense. Were they 
endowed with Reason and could think, could they do 
more ! The example of our own race is, alas ! fatal 
evidence of the contrary. Man, possessing a power 
to outdo nature, and ultimately to advance to the per- 
fection of Deity, too often debases himself below the 
brute. He abuses the divine gift, Reason, by the 
inordinate indulgence of Sense : thus perverting the 
very pre-eminence of his nature, and degrading his 
splendid prerogative, while mere instinctive matter 
puts him to shame. 

The innocent caterpillar nurtured on his native leaf, 
when precipitated by the rude gale to an unknown land, 



250 PREFACE. 

instinctively regains his peaceful home by the most 
direct advances to the stem of his native bush — and 
all this without the least effort of thought. We are 
here fain to acknowledge that the instinctive capacity 
of this reptile far surpasses the utmost stretch of 
thinking man; nay, without the aid of experience, 
rational man could not even unravel the mystery of the 
transformation of the caterpillar into the chrysalis, and 
this into the butterfly, but with all his boasted thinking 
he would suppose them to constitute three distinct spe- 
cies; though, from their first creation to the present day, 
the instinctive law of matter has acted with uniform 
precision in the production of this creature. Who could 
imagine that a long, soft, white worm hid under the 
earth should produce a cockchafer, or that the hairy 
caterpillar should produce the butterfly, adorned with 
his four beautiful wings and his spiral proboscis ! Are 
not these powerful proofs of the different nature of the 
two laws, showing that Instinct obtains its end and is 
an unerring guide, while Reason, having the power of 
choice, is for ever in need of a guide ! 

Is it not great presumption in the Vicegerent of 
Christ when the Holy Father advances in grand pro- 
cession to sing the mountain to peace, which, in obedi- 



PREFACE. 251 

ence to its own instinctive law, vomits forth its rivers 
of lava and showers of pumice-stone, to the utter de- 
struction of the haunts of rash man, who has intruded 
on the precincts of its domain, and all this with a view 
to restore some disturbed equilibrium in the operations 
of nature ! Would it not be more becoming, and a 
more immediate imitation of the humility of his Divine 
Prototype, if his Holiness taught his flock resignation 
to the dispensations of Providence, instead of venturing, 
with his feeble Reason, to arraign the Great Spirit, 
the " Supreme Reason," who is equally the author 
of our finite Reason and the unerring law of Instinct ! 
Physical Anatomy is particularly rich in instances 
which prove to absolute conviction that the law of 
Instinct exists, and is evinced by motion; while 
Mental Anatomy equally proves that the law of Reason 
exists, and is evinced by thinking. Now, what does 
the mind receive through the material channels of Sense 
but Sensation? — What kind of sensation can that be 
of which we are not conscious % — Evidently, none. 

The very essence of THINKING is consciousness. 

Whoever is not conscious of his own acts is not a man 
but a lunatic. Why is he not a man? — Because he 



252 



PREFACE. 



wants the spring of all thought — consciousness : there- 
fore he is not an accountable being. He cannot do 
wrong, for he does not know right from wrong. He 
is deprived of his personal liberty for the security of 
society, and exhibits merely the figure of a man, thus 
awakening a melancholy feeling in those who view the 
ruins of that noble structure, deprived of the real, true, 
spiritual man — Reason. 

All the channels of Sense are material — consist of 
matter. Through these material conduits, we are told, 
some subtile fluid is put in motion, on being itself 
moved by some extraneous cause, till it arrives at the 
sensorium, supposed to be seated in the brain. This, 
however, like the fluid itself — though the centre of 
action — is equally material. Now, a Sensation is 
not material, but purely mental. Hence, before a 
sensation can occur in the mind — or, in other words, 
before we are conscious of a Sensation — a leap must 
take place from matter to mind, and be acknowledged 
in consciousness ; so that what was merely the motion 
of a fluid in a material channel is now become an act 
of judgment, and by this transition is wholly spirit, or 
mind. But we have already shown that whatever is 
mental is spiritual. Every mental operation must be 



PREFACE, 253 

accompanied by consciousness ; to show which we have 
established an expression that will for ever secure it 
from being confounded with material things — mental 
representation — technically, INTUITION. — After this 
distinction is clearly understood, the error of confound- 
ing mental with material things must, indeed, be a 
willing blunder. 

That very delicate optical instrument, the eye, which 
is the organ of vision, is totally unconscious of the 
service which it renders to man. Generated by the 
motion of matter, we find that the eye is instinctively 
produced, and by motion carries on all its complicated 
offices of informing the mind of the varied beauties of 
nature. The retina receives these magic pictures of 
the external world all inverted \ it then conveys the 
information to the sensorium, by means of the optic 
nerve, which is itself a triune cord, and is wholly 
unconscious of the exquisite part that it plays in the 
" Farce of Knowledge." Merely divide the optic nerve 
behind the retina, and all the delineations there depicted 
become abortive. The individual is then deprived of 
sight — strong proof, indeed, of the necessity of the 
leap we have insisted upon, from matter to mind, in 
order that a Sensation should be acknowledged in our 



254 



PREFACE. 



consciousness ! But to acknowledge a Sensation is an 
act of Judgment, which exceeds the power of the 
garden cabbage, though destined by mere instinctive 
motion equally to generate the caterpillar and to nourish 
man. All this is performed entirely without conscious- 
ness, or the slightest effort of Judgment. Could thinking 
execute this task so well ! — might it not sometimes err ! 

The work of the " GREAT REASON " is absolute perfection. 



The wonders of anatomy can never be exhausted; 
at every step they pour in fresh evidence of the truth of 
our assertion, so completely proved in " Transcendental 
Philosophy/ ' and displayed in our previous tables, that 



REASON, 

which is 

SPIRIT, 



SENSE, 

which is 

MATTER, 



THINKS. 



MOVES. 



How exquisitely does the stomach, by its instinctive 
digestive powers, convert the food we take into chyme, 
which is again instinctively converted into chyle, on 
meeting with the bile in the duodenum ! The im- 
portance of this operation, as the immediate cause of 
the continuance of life, cannot be sufficiently dwelt on. 



PREFACE. 255 

The eagerness with which the lacteals absorb this 
curdled and separated matter, for the purpose of reno- 
vating the system with the vital fluid — blood — is 
truly wonderful. Yet all this is done without one 
solitary effort of Judgment, or the slightest pretence 
to thinking. Instinct, that law of God infused into 
matter at its birth, performs its operations with such 
wonderful accuracy and precision that it alone would 
stand forth as the undeniable proof of the existence of 
a Deity, even were all rational grounds wanting. But, 
so paramount are the proofs afforded by Reason, that, 
on merely asking itself — "Whence did I emanate? " — 
the obvious reply — " From the Omnipotent, Infinite, 
Eternal, Spirit, the Great Reason itself" — banishes all 
doubt. 

The proofs which present themselves on this interest- 
ing subject are so multifarious, that, to pursue the 
thread of the conviction they must produce would be 
to write the history of every particle of matter. We 
know that the mere instinctive motion of the blood not 
only generates the foetus, but that blood in motion, 
assisted by the particles of air inhaled by the lungs, is 
the mechanical cause of the life of man. We really 
must close this long string of irrefragable proofs, under 



256 PREFACE. 

the impression that it has fully answered the purpose 
of establishing to Conviction that 

REASON INSTINCT 

is the is the 

LAW LAW 

of of 



SPIRIT. 



MATTER. 



The line between REASON and INSTINCT is now 

permanently marked out. 

Thus, then, is the distinction finally solved and for 
ever set at rest. The bare inspection of our illustrative 
Diagram cannot fail to convince the most sceptical mind 
that whatever consists of matter must exist in Time 
and be for ever in a perpetual state of change. The blue 
circle in the centre is the type of the whole material 
universe, in the never-ending round of rise, progress, 
decay. Every object of nature is submitted to this 
process by the simple and unerring law of Instinct, 
which is evinced by motion. From this order of things 
Spirit is for ever excluded. Yet it is subjected to 
a totally different " Code of Laws" — the laws of 
Reason : proved by thinking. Every thought must be 
acknowledged by consciousness, and evinced by syllo- 



PREFACE. 257 

gism, or it is not a rational thought, but merely the 
motion of an animal instinct. 

In the pure sciences, which inhabit Eternity, and 
consist of mind, a principle once evolved is permanent 
— lasts for ever — undergoes no change whatever — 
the equality of the radii of the circle. In the sensible 
world, represented by our blue field, there can be no 
cause that begins to act of itself. Here there is no 
freedom ; the law of Instinct or necessity is the sole 
law, and is evinced by motion. But we do not con- 
tradict that powerful law of nature, Instinct, by 
showing that the soul — the inhabitant of the pure light 
of heaven, depicted by our yellow rays — may, nay, does, 
originate a series of events, totally independent of any 
influence of matter. So that spirit not only acts upon 
matter, but the Infinite " Spirit " is the Creator of 
matter, while the Finite Spirit is merely the Regulator 
of matter. Animal, as merely aniuiated matter, acts 
from the strongest impulse, and is constrained, that 
is, moves. Man, on the other hand, forms plans and 
executes them, therefore he is free, that is, thinks. 
Thus: 

Matter -f" Reason -J- Connexion = Man. 
Matter -J- Instinct -f- Connexion == Brute. 



258 PREFACE. 

Instinct arises simply from the particles of matter 
obeying one universal law given to them at their birth. 
All the varied effects of nature are produced necessarily -, 
merely by each particle of matter striving to obey its 
own law — to produce a universal equilibrium — in 
fact, to conform to the first 'principle of the pure 
mathematics — equation — the only harmonizing prin- 
ciple of nature, and the absolute proof of our Triune 
Principle. The struggle of the elements is ever to 
be, and never to cease. For, should nature once attain 
a perfect equilibrium, it would be absolute stagnation 
— death to matter — the total annihilation of nature — 
and the complete destruction of the Triune Principle. 
Hence the opposition in the elementary particles of 
matter are not the effect of blind chance, but the 
design of a wise and beneficent Creator : 

" For all subsists in elemental strife ; 
And passions are the elements of life. 
The general order, since the whole began, 
Is kept in nature, and is kept in man." 

Were the planetary system gifted with thought, 
could these orbs perform their evolutions with more 
precision ! Would the eternal round of their measured 
exactness equal that marked by the finger of God, in 



PREFACE. 259 

his unerring law — Instinct ! Might we not rather 
expect the following colloquy between Mercury and 
Venus I 

Mercury. I really think I have been long enough 
exposed to the intensity of the sun's rays to induce 
your amiable condescension to change orbits for a 
space. Should the trial not succeed, we can but return 
to our former stations — and thus restore the ancient 
order of the Universe. 

Venus. I should be most happy to make the ex- 
periment, but, from the delicacy of my frame, and 
consequent want of density, I am fearful I should long 
repent having made the trial, for my dissolution might 
ensue. 

Mercury. You have urged such cogent reasons, that 
I really am of opinion if we knew when we were well 
off we should prefer remaining as we are. 

This is a tacit acknowledgment that God's law of 
Instinct is a more sure guide than the deliberative 
Judgment of Man. 

Instinct is an acknowledged want to do or to enjoy 
something, for which we cannot account. The planet 
wants to proceed in a direct line for ever. The attrac- 
tion of the sun counteracts this necessary want in the 

M 



260 PREFACE. 

planet. Hence arises the struggle between these 
opposing powers, which finally settles down, as it 
were, by mutual consent, into the elliptical orbit of 
the planet. This is the universal law of planetary 
motion, and generates the conflict between the centri- 
petal and the centrifugal forces, which is ultimately 
harmonized by the Instinct in matter to comply with 
the demands of both powers. It is this godlike instinct 
which offers to the contemplation of man the tran- 
scendent wonders of the spangled heavens, where pure 
Science reigns in full perfection, and defies the puny 
efforts of finite man to approximate its matchless 
sublimity. 

It is a notorious fact that matter exists in three 
states — ■ solid, fluid, aeriform. The solid state of matter 
is susceptible of the utmost accuracy of definition, 
having all the geometrical dimensions — length, breadth, 
thickness. Thus we have a solid inch, a solid foot, a 
solid cube. However accurately art may chisel this 
solid cube of adamant, still we must constantly bear 
in mind that the material cube is only a type of the 
pure mathematical figure, which exists no where but 
in the mind. What a happy illustration does this 
afford of the first mental operation — INTUITION ! 



PREFACE. 261 

What so susceptible of definition as Intuition ! Here 
every thing has a determined form, can be accurately 
measured, and computed. As long as it remains an 
Intuition it retains fixed dimensions. Thus from the 
rude block the artist delights the eye with an Apollo or 
a Venus. 

The fluid state of matter bears a strong analogy to 
the second mental operation — CONCEPTION. All 
attempts to construct a fluid Apollo must be futile. 
For here, though the matter is as palpable to Sense as 
the solid rock, yet the power of determining its specific 
form baffles all our efforts. How nearly allied is this 
circumstance — indefiniteness — to the very nature and 
essence of CONCEPTION ! Even when the mind 
conceives a cube, that most determined of all figures, 
we really find that the very root of this cube is an 
indefinite line, a b. So that what we fancy to be 
so completely defined is, in fact, a concoction of 
indefiniteness. Nor, indeed, have we any other means 
of fixing flowing matter — water — than by retaining 
it in vessels impervious to fluidity, whose form it 
assumes only while there. Again, the CONCEPTION 
of a rose in general is a compound of indefiniteness, 
comprehending all possible roses ; but the INTUITION 

m2 



262 PREFACE. 

which I hold in my hand is a damask rose. The 
cluster of sensations which constitute the INTUITION 
only becomes knowledge, by being placed under the 
CONCEPTION, rose in general. Thus does the inde- 
finite comprehend the finite. 

What can be so powerful as the impression offered 
to Sense in the aeriform state of matter, for illustrating 
the third and highest mental act — IDEA ! Since 
every attempt to give a form to fluid matter has proved 
vain, how much less practicable is it then to give a 
decided and definite form to that elastic fluid, the air 9 
which every where surrounds us, and is so essential to 
the support of life, yet is both impalpable and invisible ! 
Now, what says the divine Jesus ? " That which is born 
of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit 
is spirit. The wind bloweth whither it listeth, and thou 
nearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it 
cometh and whither it goeth ; so is every one that is 
born of the spirit." The wind, being invisible, is known 
only by its effects j what a happy illustration is this of the 
spirit, which is known only by its effects in regenerated 
man ! If that vital fluid, air, is of such importance 
for the preservation of the body, how much more so is 
that pure spirit, Reason, for the salvation of the soul ! 



PREFACE. 263 

Without this faculty we could form no idea of the 
infinite, much less of the "Great Infinite Reason" 
himself. Then, indeed, we should be mere machines 
1 — instruments in His hands — acting according to 
Instinct, but not free agents — rational beings — acting 
according to the great law of God, the "Moral Law" 
< — grounded in the very nature of Reason itself, and 
revealed to us by Jesus Christ. This law makes man 
the judge of his own conduct, through the medium of 
Conscience. So that man either acquits or condemns 
the action, according to the purity of the motive ; and 
in this manner he renders himself worthy to be a 
partaker of " that kingdom of everlasting bliss," pro- 
mised by our Redeemer as a full and complete reward 
to the virtuous. 

How powerful has God's unerring law of Instinct 
been in raising the Soul to aspirations like these, merely 
from contemplating the Great Book — " Nature" — in 
its unvaried and eternal round of the three states of 
matter — solid, fluid, aeriform — or, which is the same 
thing, dwelling on the specific differences of the three 
original acts of mind— INTUITION, CONCEPTION, 
IDEA ! In fact we have no other way to sensualize 
IDEAS but personification. Thus we say, " God the 



264 PREFACE. 

Father/' meaning the great Creator of all — " God 
the Son," the Koyog, the word, the Reason, that dwells 
in us and is the law of God — " God the Holy Ghost," 
the connexion necessarily subsisting between these 
two holy personified principles, who is our advocate, 
monitor, and comforter; " even the e Spirit of Truth,' 
whom the world cannot receive, because it see'th him 
not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him ; for he 
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you for ever." This 
" Spirit of Truth" sent from our Heavenly Father to 
remain with us for ever is — Conscience — the only 
ground by which we can conduct ourselves morally, 
and the immediate connexion between the Finite and 
the Infinite Reason, through which spiritual link 
alone can we hope to attain " the kingdom of everlasting 
bliss." 

Thus we perceive that the three states of matter are 
powerful evidences of the three mental operations, 
INTUITION, CONCEPTION, IDEA, and produce 
the most positive and splendid confirmation of the truth 
of the System, which alone can work out our salvation 
— " Christianity" — and which must endure for ever, 
for it is already in Eternity. We have stated that the 
finite is comprehended in the indefinite ; but we shall 



PREFACE. 265 

readily perceive — by the Tabular display — that both 
these are included in the infinite : 

Solid -f- Finite -|~ Connexion = Intuition. 

Fluid -j- Indefinite -j- Connexion = Conception. 
Aeriform -f- Infinite -\- Connexion = Idea. 

The great laboratory — nature — has been, from its 
first creation, operating by its instinctive powers on 
matter, by sublimation, dissolution, and fixation, so 
as to produce the never-ending round of the three 
kingdoms, animal, vegetable, and mineral. Here, then, 
end the operations of matter. Not so with spirit, which 
is not only free from all action of matter, in its pure 
and exalted state, but even now in its state of pro- 
bation evinces a power which far surpasses instinct in 
its ultimate aim — approximation to Divinity. This 
power — " Reason"-— acknowledged by consciousness, 
guided by syllogism, and wholly denied to brutes, makes 
Man the ultimate aim and " Scope op Creation.'' 

<®n tyt Dftme Ifa&elatfon. 

We have repeatedly asserted that the revealed " Word 

of God" can be addressed only to the Reason of man. 

As unanimity on this vital point of Religion is of the 

utmost consequence, we feel it an imperative duty 



266 PREFACE. 

fully to establish this important doctrine : otherwise, 
whatever concord and agreement we may have pro- 
duced — on the "Divarication of the Scriptures'' — 
on the "Trinity of the Divine Essence"— on the 
(e divinity of the precepts taught by our Saviour " — 
are not complete, while the mode of conveying this 
moral instruction to the mind is susceptible of con- 
troversy. This proves that something is still wanting 
— " the one thing needful" — perfect unanimity, and 
absolute uniformity of opinion on the revealed " Word 
of God." 

When we reflect seriously on the purpose and intent 
of a c 5 Divine Revelation/' we shall instantly perceive 
that its whole object is to improve the moral part of 
man — his immortal soul. We shall perceive also that 
administering to the instincts of the body, even to the 
very highest consummation of our earthly happiness, 
does not necessarily improve the moral state of the 
soul ; nay, it is often found that severe trials induce a 
more rigid self-examination and are more favourable 
to virtue than a total abandonment to luxury and 
enjoyment. All that regards the soul is the affair of 
Practical Reason ; all that concerns the body is 
the gratification of Sense. 



PREFACE. 267 

Practical Reason acts in a dictatorial manner. It 
absolutely commands the performance of certain actions, 
without considering what effect they may have upon 
our happiness. Thus it says : — " Be strictly virtuous, 
whatever may he the consequence," That we possess 
the power to obey this commandment is abundantly 
proved by an appeal to our own consciousness. History 
teems with instances of persecuted individuals who have 
expired under the torture of the rack, rather than 
sacrifice their veracity. This proves most decidedly 
that man not only possesses the power to obey the 
commands of Reason, but that all the powers of 
nature, even when concentrated by the hand of Science, 
utterly fail when an attempt is made to employ them 
in violation of the freedom of Reason, 

All moral actions must be considered as the immediate 
COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. 

What is it that takes place in the mind of the 
individual during this self-examination ? — a Conviction 
that certain actions are conformable to the u Moral 
Law," and are right and good ; while others directly 
contradict this Law, and are wrong and bad. But 
here we must remark that man has a twofold nature ; 

m 5 



268 PREFACE. 

that is, he possesses an animal or Sensible and a 
rational or Supersensible nature. According to the 
former, all his instincts and desires are conditional; 
that is, he only desires something for the sake of 
something else : he desires moderation to promote 
his health ; indeed, all his desires are directed to the 
completion of his own happiness. All the desires and 
actions of man, as a sensible being, are directed to 
this one great object, for the attainment of which he 
calls to his aid all his faculties, even Reason itself, 
which is thus required to enter into the servitude 
of Sense. This principle of our nature is self-love. 
The actions prompted by it are strictly interested: 
they are such as are commonly termed useful, because 
they serve to the furtherance of some other purpose. 
This clearly accounts for the incessant inquiry after 
utility. Actions arising from self-love may not in- 
deed offend against the " Moral Law/' yet, arising 
from interested motives, they can never be strictly 
moral. Hence it is evident that the whole bent and 
force of our animal or sensible nature is nothing more 
than a constant effort to produce the greatest sum of 
animal enjoyment — Happiness — on the principle of 
self -love. 



PREFACE. 269 

But there is another principle in our nature which 
is disinterested : hence arises an opposite set of desires 
and actions. This principle is " Practical Reason/' 
which is not influenced by any other power, but acts 
of itself. This is the only true and genuine ground of 
Morality, that is, the power of performing actions 
from disinterested motives. These actions often oppose 
the instinctive wants of our animal nature. Yet it is this 
sublime quality of our superior or Rational nature — - 
which separates us from all created beings, nay, even 
from ourselves — that distinguishes between our two 
natures and their corresponding desires. It is from 
this principle alone that we can be virtuous, that is, 
perform actions which accord with Reason merely 
because they are commanded by Reason. These actions 
are unconditional, that is, good in themselves. It is, 
however, quite evident that we are not content with 
barely searching after happiness, or even possessing it. 
We have likewise an incessant desire to be morally good, 
that is, to practice Virtue, which we never can relin- 
quish. 

That Virtue and Happiness are original and oppo- 
sing ends laid in our nature is not only easily proved, 
but their order even cannot be changed. 



270 PREFACE. 

There would be no difficulty in man's fulfilling the 
" Moral Law/' were he merely a pure rational Being, 
whose ultimate end is Virtue. But he is at the same 
time a being of Nature, formed with particular instincts 
and desires, which all centre in Happiness. Now, in 
order to fulfil the laws of our two natures, a struggle 
ensues between virtue and happiness. Neither of these 
important ends is to be crushed by the other, since this 
would defeat the plan originally laid in our nature, 
which entirely consists in this struggle. The worth of 
a man is evinced solely by his strength of mind in 
overcoming the allurements to pleasure that militate 
against the Moral Law. The more the desire of Hap- 
piness tempts man to disobey the " Moral Law," in spite 
of which he still obeys and attends to the voice of 
Reason, the more certain he is that he acts from a 
principle of Virtue, and the greater is the victory which 
he gains in the struggle. 

The consciousness of having acted from duty alone 
is accompanied with a sentiment that may properly be 
termed a moral feeling. This may easily be distin- 
guished from every sensual pleasure, which always 
precedes the action ; while the moral sentiment cannot 
arise till after the performance of the action, and even 



PREFACE. 271 

then only on the ground of the purity of the motive. 
This purity is acknowledged by Conscience, when we 
are certain that the action is performed entirely for the 
sake of 'Duty : then only is it moral. 

" What Conscience dictates to be done, 

Or warns me not to do, 
This teach me more than hell to shun, 

That more than heaven pursue." 

It would be absurd to pretend that our virtuous con- 
duct is influenced by this moral pleasure, since it 
cannot arise till after the performance of the act. On 
the other hand, it is perfectly true that the pursuit of 
sensual enjoyment is wholly actuated by the anticipation 
of the pleasure we have in view. Were this the case 
with Virtue, it would cease to be disinterested — it 
would no longer be virtue. 

VIRTUE and HAPPINESS are opposing ends in our nature. 

It only remains, therefore, for us to show that their 
order even cannot be changed. Suppose for a moment 
that Happiness were to take the lead in this arrangement, 
according to the plan of Epicurus. This would totally 
defeat one of the aims of our nature — Virtue — which 
would be entirely destroyed, for there could be nothing 



272 PREFACE. 

disinterested. But restore the rational order, and make 
Happiness subordinate to Virtue, and we realize the 
entire aim laid in our nature by our Almighty Maker, 
and at the same time create the possibility of producing 
the "Highest Good," and this, indeed, only by making 

VIRTUE the cause of HAPPINESS. 

Now, then, are the predispositions of our nature in 
perfect harmony. This presents a sublime and celestial 
view of our rational nature, which is so forcible that 
we cannot contemplate the Author of such an arrange- 
ment with sufficient awe and reverence ! 

Reason decrees that in order to be Supremely 
Happy all the desires of the flesh must be restrained 
by the desires of the spirit. The desire of the spirit 
is goodness; the desire of the flesh is gratification. 
The contest between these opposing desires engenders 
a never-ceasing struggle. Common sense decides at 
once — and most correctly, too — in favour of Virtue, 
making Happiness always subordinate to this high 
principle. This decision can neither be reversed nor 
admit of any appeal. In order to be conclusive, it must, 
however, be scientific — that is, so proved that its 
contrary cannot even be conceived — or the "one thing 



PREFACE. 273 

needful" is not obtained — perfect unanimity and ab- 
solute agreement. 

What a confirmation does this afford of the correctness 
of our analysis of Practical Reason ! Suppose we 
put the converse, and let happiness take the lead. It 
must here be quite evident that we are sacrificing an 
infinite end — virtue — the goodness of the soul in 
Eternity — to a finite end — happiness — - the gratifi- 
cation of the instincts of the body in Time. What is 
the contracted span of the entire duration of the body 
in Time compared with the never-ending state of the 
soul in Eternity ! Reason cannot approve of this 
destructive order of things — that the sinful lusts of the 
flesh should effect the condemnation of the soul and the 
destruction of virtue; thus defeating the sublimest 
object of our nature — " realizing the highest good." 

Restore the natural order, and view the consequences. 
Let Virtue be the cause of Happiness : then, indeed, 
do the predispositions of our nature stand in harmony. 
Thus we perceive that there is no need for the destruc- 
tion of either end. For the finite end in Time has 
fully done its duty, by evincing, on all occasions, the 
supremacy of the Spirit over the Flesh. What a 
powerful confirmation is this of the decision of Reason ! 



274 PREFACE, 

In scientific language, we should say that actions which 
are conformable with Reason are permitted; actions 
which contradict Reason are prohibited. 

Here, then, we find that a principle of Reason — an 
invisible and impalpable essence — is all- commanding, 
not allowing the least evasion or subterfuge, under 
any pretence whatever, issuing its commandments to 
Free Will, ordering it to obey the laws which it has 
enacted, from its own Rational nature. Herein lies the 
dignity of humanity — that of being the author of its 
own laws. All laws of Freedom originate in Reason, 
and command man to he strictly virtuous, under all 
circumstances. 

On the other hand, a fact that addresses Sense 
generates certain sensatio7is, which the individual cannot 
even communicate to another. The highest species of 
evidence that can be obtained from the relation of these 
Sensations is first to be tried by the tests of possibility 
and probability . If the facts answer these proofs, we 
hesitatingly venture to Believe the Historical nar- 
ration. What a striking difference between Principle 
and Fact ! The one, when once uttered, is universally 
commanding and indubitably true. The other is indi- 
vidually felt, but cannot even be communicated. 



PREFACE. 275 

Powerful, indeed, is the confirmation of this truth 
in the pure science of the mathematics. The mathe- 
matical figure formed in one mind must be as pure and 
correct as that formed in all others, because it is a 
principle which can only inhabit Eternity. Yet the 
symbol which raises this pure figure, however accurately 
executed, is but an approximation to purity, which 
can never reside in Time. In the spiritual " Science 
of Religion and Morality/' the machinery employed 
to effect this purpose — the development of principle 
— is definition, which consists of words as the signs of 
ideas, and, when accurately stated and clearly compre- 
hended, the principle is awakened. Christ says : " Do 
ye unto others as you would they should do unto you." 
This sublime law of our Saviour may be expressed 
scientifically thus : — u Act strictly rationally towards 
others, for they ought to act strictly rationally towards 
you" — or they cease to be rational beings. Hence is 

The Supremacy of PRINCIPLE over FACT established 
for ever! 

Now, indeed, have we obtained " the one thing need- 
ful" — absolute agreement and perfect concurrence in 
the Supremacy of the laws of Reason over the illusions 

of Sense. 



276 PREFACE. 

That we should acquire Happiness in proportion as 
we have rendered ourselves worthy is the ultimate end 
of Practical Reason. But, though this position is 
regularly deduced from our Analysis of Practical 
Reason, it does not follow that the perfect harmony of 
Happiness and Virtue should take place in this life. 
Experience too often exhibits instances of virtuous 
men under great sufferings, and wicked men surrounded 
by luxuries and all that contributes to earthly bliss. 
But does Reason approve of this accidental concurrence 
of circumstances % — Certainly not. Reason is never 
inconsistent : it looks upon mankind, therefore, as placed 
here in a probationary state, and assures us that the 
ultimate views of the Deity, which it unfolds to us, will 
certainly be accomplished. It assures us that what 
does not appear consistent with a moral arrangement, 
in our present contracted view of things, will be shown 
to be so hereafter, to our entire satisfaction and to the 
Glory of our Almighty Maker ! 

These accidental circumstances, so far from diminish- 
ing our Virtue, afford more opportunity for its exercise, 
and ought to induce us to brave the vicissitudes of this 
life, and exert a greater degree of Moral Strength. 
Thus we actually become more virtuous than if we had 



PREFACE. 277 

not been placed in these trying circumstances, and by 
this exercise are led to love virtue for its own sake, 
and so to fulfil the ultimate design of Reason . 

Practical Reason is synonymous with Free Will, 
for, being wholly in Eternity, it is perfectly free from 
the events and things in Time. What is this but 
freedom ? — That being, whose Will is necessarily 
in harmony with Practical Reason, is a " Sacred 
Being ! " — Christ says : " Call ye not me good whom 
ye see — no one is good but my Father in heaven, 
whom ye see not." Who can doubt the import of these 
words ! Pure goodness and perfect Spirit cannot in- 
habit the corruptible sphere of Time, but must breathe 
its purity in Eternity. The dependence of a Will 
not absolutely good in itself is called obligation : this 
cannot apply to a Sacred Being. The necessitation of 
an action from obligation is Duty. 

We are here commanded by the " Saviour " of men 
to perform the task attempted in this " Divarication" 
— for ever to separate pure Doctrine, which can exist 
only in Eternity, from doubtful History, which is 
simply a record of the events flowing down the stream 
of Time. Now it is clear that we have Scriptural 
authority for separating the production of Reason, 



278 PREFACE. 

which is pure principle, from the production of Sense, 
which is mere matter of fact. 

Should there be any difference of opinion on this 
important subject, we must constantly bear in mind 
that no two persons are so uniformly cultivated that 
the same type will always raise the corresponding ideas. 
Hence, when we suppose that we differ in principle, 
this difference arises merely from the use which each 
individual has made of his intellect. To differ in 
principle is impossible. That can be no principle which 
is not universally acknowledged when once understood. 
— " Do unto others as ye would they should do unto 
you." 

This principle is all- commanding, and is as binding 
to the Infidel, the Jew, the Gentile, and the Unitarian, 
as to the Christian, because it is evolved from pure 
" Practical Reason," though first revealed to man by 
Jesus Christ. Our Saviour evidently alludes to this 
" absolute universality ," when he says : ei The Gospel 
shall be preached to all the nations of the earth;'' 
otherwise there would be more religions than one — 
" that of Christ " — which is impossible. 

From the present state of enlightenment, however, 
should any difference of opinion occur as to what we 



PREFACE. 279 

have considered Doctrine, and placed in the yellow 
leaf of the book — emblem of celestial light — it must 
be remembered that the words employed are but the 
signs of ideas — mere types of pure principle- — and, 
till uniformly appreciated by two minds, cannot raise 
the same perfect principle. For that is no principle 
which is not universally commanding — the circularity 
of the circle. 

To obviate this difficulty, it is strongly recommended, 
when a case of this sort occurs, that the type in question 
should be transferred to the Historic page — indicated 
by the blue tint — proper receptacle for disputed points. 
" Divine Revelation," in order to bear out its 
genuine character, must carry with it absolute truth 
and perfect certainty. It must be altogether above the 
possibility of human invention. But what can this be 
but the sublime " Morality of Christ/' which it is 
totally out of the power of man to construct, and which 
can be nothing short of Divine ! — " The eye is the light 
of the body \ if thine eye be simple, thy body will be 
full of light : but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body 
will be full of darkness." 

In the infancy of the Divarication, differences of 
opinion with regard to the propriety of such a work 



280 PREFACE. 

will be of frequent recurrence. For no two minds, as 
we have already observed, are so uniformly cultivated 
that the same type will always raise the corresponding 
idea in precisely the same purity. So that, when we 
suppose we differ in principle, it is only in the use 
which each individual has made of his intellect \ but, 
when we are in accordance, the same idea will con- 
stantly be the result. For a principle that is susceptible 
of dispute is no principle at all, wanting absolute 
universality. As Science advances, principles will be 
more unfolded. The truth of this position will be 
abundantly evident, when we reflect on the total im- 
possibility of facts ever being substituted for precepts. 
Facts can occur only at one point of time, and there- 
fore cannot be guides for our conduct ; while principle 
is an established law of our reasoning faculty, and is 
ever present as a constituent part of that faculty. These 
laws, therefore, are the real grounds which induce our 
Moral conduct. 

Why that " Book," whose office it is to introduce 
into the infant mind the simplest, the purest, and the 
most divine, Morality, should not be benefited by the 
rapid advances made in enlightenment in our times 
is not to be conceived. Are children of a tender age, 



PREFACE. 281 

who know no difference between Jericho and Joppa, to 
have the purest system of morality — itself of divine 
origin — perplexed and encumbered with historical 
detail and geographical distinction s, which can never 
establish a single precept ? — No ! let the erudite dis- 
pute on these interminable difficulties ; but clear away 
earthly things from a " Science" of such celestial 
purity as the " Morality of Christ." 

The day is indeed come, and will be hailed with 
silent but deep-felt joy, when we can no longer brook 
confounding Heavenly with Earthly things. Nothing 
.short of the unmixed and pure " Word of God" will 
satisfy the development of Reason in the nineteenth 
century. Henceforth shall we possess a " Science of 
Religion," whose evidence will as far surpass the 
proofs afforded by the pure mathematics as their purity 
does the imposture of the empiric. Nothing but 
Reason can convince Reason — here authority is 
powerless. 

Those persons who are, in reproach, termed Infidels 
may well be astonished at seeing all their doubts and 
difficulties thus for ever banished from the field of con- 
tention. They will at once embrace "Christianity," 
because they are urged to do so by their own Reason. 



282 PREFACE. 

In fact, they only differ from their fellow- men in the 
boldness of investigation, submitting every thing to the 
test of Reason. The repugnance of History too 
often impedes their progress. The injunction to believe 
all or none leads them to reject that which, when 
Divaricated, they must adopt. Instead, therefore, 
of the opprobrious epithet of Infidel, it would be more 
charitable as well as more christian-like to say that 
they were sincere searchers after truth, and only 
puzzled in their logic. In this character they cannot 
refuse truth, when offered to them in purity. Hence 
the whole sect of Infidels will become sincere Chris- 
tians. The Infidel, too honest to say that he believes 
that which he does not understand, evinces a high 
degree of moral courage, and only waits for Con- 
viction. 

The Bigot will not so readily become a convert to 
the primitive Christianity taught by our Saviour. He 
will tremble for the temerity of the individual who 
should venture, with his feeble Reason, to search for 
conviction in the "Holy Scriptures." "Take them 
on faith," says he, " and be satisfied ; for they contain 
a mystery not to be unravelled by man ! " What ! — 
authority to blind Reason ! That power with which 



PREFACE. 283 

God has stamped his chosen people — Reason — (i to 
be wrapped in a napkin'' and left unemployed ! The 
only power by which man can judge of the value of his 
own actions, by ascertaining the purity of the motive, 
to be silenced by Authority ! Has the Redeemer any 
where forbidden the use of Reason ? — No ! — He 
exhorts man to its fullest exercise, to enable him to 
suppress the sinful lusts of the flesh. 

When Christ taught, there were no Gospels ; the 
morality was to be extracted from his divine parables. 
In those days there could not be any bigotted attach- 
ment to what did not exist. It may properly be termed 
a superstitious awe and authority to suppress the fulfil- 
ment of the " Word of God/' instead of following 
the divine precepts of Jesus, and vanquishing the lusts 
of the flesh. This blind superstition would soon bring 
us back to the errors of Catholicism, and finally ex- 
tinguish all enlightenment. The Bigot, who acts 
from blind belief and prejudice, displays great moral 
cowardice and dread of investigation. This mode of 
procedure lays the foundation for hypocrisy and its 
train of fatal consequences ; it cannot, therefore, be too 
much reprobated. This class will be the most severe 
in their strictures on the present Divarication, and 

N 



284 PREFACE. 

perhaps scarcely be tolerant enough to allow the merit 
of a good and upright intention to its author. Is this 
Christian humility ? or is it a departure from the sim- 
plicity of the precepts of Christ ? — " Oh ! ye hypocrites, 
ye can discern the face of the sky ; but ye cannot dis- 
cern the signs of the times ! " 

The " True Believer" is he who believes in the 
existence of invisible and immaterial things from Con- 
viction, because, if he denies them, he cannot think 
at all. To this scientific faith we are exhorted by St. 
Paul : " Faith is the evidence of things not seen." To 
arrive at this faith requires the highest use of Practical 
Reason, under the guidance of syllogism. Hence we 
must have faith in the existence of mind, as we do 
syllogize and draw conclusions. The "Scriptures," 
so far from stifling our Reason, demand the utmost 
effort of this high prerogative of man, in order that the 
divine truths which they unfold should be adopted, 
not from blind faith, but from that rational faith alone 

"the evidence of things not seen" — ay, even to 

Conviction. 

Having faith in the existence of the human mind, 
and being well assured that a finite thing cannot make 
itself, we are forced to raise another syllogism, and 



PREFACE. 285 

infer that it has a " Maker." If the faith in the 
existence of the Maker is not a rational faith, even 
unto Conviction, we are then in the state of the Bigot, 
who professes to believe what he does not comprehend. 
The most puerile mind has strength enough to infer 
that no finite thing ever made itself. Hence it is con- 
strained to acknowledge that every thing finite must be 
made by the " Infinite." How could these conclusions 
be drawn, if mind did not exist ! We have proved 
that matter cannot think. Nor could the finite mind 
be possible but for the " Infinite Mind " — the 
omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal " Mind," the 
great Creator of all — God ! 

The finite and the infinite minds are two spiritual 
essences, which stand in eternal relation to each other, 
proving an indissoluble Trinity in Unity. Annul the 
one, the other vanishes. If we annul the finite mind, 
we surely prove that there can be no maker of that 
which is not made. Annul the infinite mind, and the 
finite could not exist. He is no Father who never 
had a Child ; but, when he became a father, the three 
principles were generated of Father, Son, and Relation 
— overwhelming proof of the truth of the Triune 
Principle ! These tivo minds and their relation 

n2 



286 PREFACE. 

altogether exist in Eternity, and are all of one sub- 
stance. And this is the catholic faith, neither con- 
founding the persons nor dividing the substance ; which 
faith, unless every one do keep whole and undefiled, 
without doubt he ceases to be a Rational Creature. 

None of these three principles can exist in Time, 
or they would be palpable to Sense, which they are 
not — and would have priority, which they have not. 
There can be no priority where there is no Time. 
Hence these principles can only live, move, and have 
their being, in Eternity, for they are principles of 
Reason. Thus the Existence of God, the Immortality 
of the Soul, and a Future State, become of necessity 
axioms in the " Sacred Science." 

That the faith in the existence of our own invisible 
essence — Reason — is scientific, may be easily de- 
monstrated. To suppose Reason away, and yet to 
syllogize, is impossible. Thus the existence of Reason 
is proved to Conviction, To suppose that Reason 
made itself is equally absurd. Hence we are forced 
by the invisible power of syllogism to believe in the 
existence of a " Rational Author ; " for no power devoid 
of Reason could construct so exquisite a faculty. Let 
us call this power God, and we are forced to say : — 



PREFACE. 287 

" We believe in God to Conviction." How very 
different is this rational or scientific faith from that 
which is grounded on History and enforced by- 
Authority ! This scientific faith cannot err, if the 
logic is correct. The historic faith can never produce 
Conviction : but faith without Conviction is blind 
faith. This really is a scientific proof of the existence 
of God : for its contrary cannot even be conceived. 

To meet the case of modern enlightenment it is 
imperative that the " New Testament" should have all 
the blaze of intellectual light concentrated, with a view 
to extract and expound the Divine Morality laid 
down in the " Sacred Volume" by the founder of 
Christianity. The efforts of enlightenment must indeed 
advance far beyond their present standard before the 
world will be able to discern half the divine truths 
contained in that cc Divine Revelation." What says 
the Divine Jesus ? " I have many things to say unto 
you ; but ye cannot bear them now. Hitherto I have 
spoken to you in proverbs ; but the time cometh when 
I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I 
shall show you plainly of the Father." 

Some little advantage may perhaps be obtained from 
the present "Divarication," which is intended to 



288 PREFACE. 

serve as a key to unlock part of the sacred truths con- 
tained in the " Scriptures." The most ready way to 
unfold truth is to clear it from the mystery in which we 
fancy it to be enveloped. This apparent mystery arises 
from a slavish adherence to the ivords of the " Sacred 
Book/' instead of a copious and full display of its 
spirit. A striking instance of this truth may be 
obtained by comparing the ivords said to be uttered 
nearly two thousand years ago with the spirit in our 
modern version in the passage where our Saviour, 
in reproving anger, says : — " Whosoever is angry 
with his brother without a cause shall be in danger 
of the judgment : and whosoever shall say to his 
brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council : but 
whosoever shall say, Thou fool ! shall be in danger 
of hell fire/' 

Being fully aware that ivords are only material types 
of spiritual ideas, we have selected such modern ex- 
pressions as appear to us to contain the whole spirit of 
the precept, instead of the words attributed to our 
Saviour, when he taught his divine Doctrine to man. 
Jn so doing we hope that we have facilitated the intro- 
duction of Christianity into the infant mind without 
the perplexity arising from types about which the 



PREFACE. 289 

learned of the present day are not agreed. Thus we 
sincerely trust that none of the essence of the Doctrine 
is lost by using the more familiar type in our version 
where we say : " He who is angry with his brother 
without a cause is ivrong." Hereby we render this 
conduct a moral crime, and only susceptible of moral 
punishment, totally excluding it from Time or the 
Judgment of men, and referring wholly to that high 
moral tribunal in Eternity — the condemnation of 
God! 

It is very doubtful whether the ideas raised by the 
types, "Judgment," "Raca," and "Fool," are pre- 
cisely those that were current with the contemporaries 
of our Saviour. If not, the same moral instruction is 
not conveyed to the hearers. What the type, Raca, 
meant in those days seems to puzzle the learned of the 
present time. Nor do the English Dictionaries solve 
the difficulty — neither is it quite certain that the defi- 
nition they afford of the words " Judgment " and "Hell 
Fire " are precisely those that were understood by 
Christ's hearers. If not, then some false idea is raised 
in the mind, to the perversion of the pure moral they 
were intended to convey. Did hell fire mean burning 
brimstone, or the valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem, 



290 PREFACE. 

among the primitive Christians, or merely an imaginary 
place assigned for the eternal punishment of the wicked ! 
If the modern use of the words " Thou fool " were 
enough to consign the culprit to eternal punishment in 
" Hell Fire " too many would be in danger of the 
"Judgment V Is it certain that our Saviour taught 
in Greek and not in Hebrew ? — How is this fact to be 
proved ! May not the words pam and fiaps, attributed 
to our Saviour, in fact be the Hebrew words Np*1 and 
fTTlD ? Let any child or even adult unacquainted with 
the learned languages decide which version conveys 
the clearest moral precept. We have no hesitation 
in saying that the decision will be in favour of the 
" Divarication." 

Compare the authorised translation of the Greek 
text with the version from the same original given in 
our "Divarication" generally. We beg, however, 
particularly to call the attention of the reader to the 
first and fourteenth verses of the First Chapter of St. 
John, where, merely by substituting the word Reason 
as the translation of \6yo$ — which implies ratio as 
well as verhum — it gives the true and honest interpreta- 
tion of the original :— " In the beginning ivas Reason, 
and Reason was with God, for Reason is God : and 



PREFACE. 291 

Reason dwelt among us in the flesh, in the glory of 
the Father, full of truth." 

This is the Doctrine taught by Jesus Christy and 
its contrary is not to be conceived. For, annul the 
Infinite Reason, and it could not make the Finite 
Reason. Jf it did not make the Finite Reason, then 
it made itself, which is absurd. Now this is most 
assuredly a scientific proof of the truth and divinity of 
the " Revelation " of Jesus Christ, for its contrary is 
not conceivable. The koyos actually means the prin- 
ciple of Reason, or God himself — ■ as a spiritual essence 
— personified, which produces the same syllogism as 
above — the Infinite Reason and the Finite Reason 
in eternal Connexion, or the indissoluble Trinity in 
Unity — 0=<k, \oyog, vuvzyr^. 

That this Doctrine can be discovered by the natural 
efforts of human Reason is the absolute proof of the 
"Divine Revelation" of Jesus Christ. Had any 
thing repugnant to Reason been found in the " Book" 
calJed the " Word of God," it is quite clear that it 
must, on that account, be rejected, as being wholly 
unworthy of the Father of our Saviour, who has endowed 
us with Reason as the only touchstone by which to try 
the word, and definitively to decide whether it is the 

n5 



292 PREFACE. 

Word of God or the Word of Man. When the 
syllogisms in question refer to spirit alone, that is, to 
our moral conduct, which regards our Eternal Welfare, 
this is the "Word of God." When, on the other 
hand, they refer to matter and concern our earthly 
comforts, that is, our Temporal Welfare, this is merely 
the "Word of Man." 

The "Word of God" must be absolutely com- 
manding, admitting of no difference of opinion, but 
producing perfect unanimity, even to Conviction. The 
" Word of Man " must for ever be doubtful, till tried 
by the criteria of possibility and probability, and even 
then admitted only with caution, as it may err, for 
it can never produce Conviction. The principles of 
Morality are uniform : " Be strictly virtuous under all 
circumstances. " The desires of Happiness are ever 
wavering ; no two individuals were ever found whose 
happiness consisted of precisely the same ingredients. 
Neither of these states can obliterate the other. They 
are the essential and constituent characteristics of hu- 
manity, and are both the gift of God. Now, this very 
same touchstone — Reason — assures us that though 
we ought to attend to our temporal as well as to our 
eternal welfare, yet this condition must positively be 



PREFACE. 293 

observed. In the pursuit of our earthly happiness we 
must never offend against the commandments of our 
Heavenly Father. There cannot be a stronger proof 
that these commandments were revealed to us by J esus 
Christ, because they constitute the very essence of the 
" Book." Nothing can be clearer than that these laws 
are of divine origin, because they do not consist of 
matter, that is, of earth earthy, but of spirit, which is 
of heaven heavenly. 

Do not for a moment let it be supposed, because we 
separate Doctrine from History, that either of them 
can be dispensed with — any more than that because 
we talk of the base of a triangle we annul the other 
two sides. Such an error would amount to the anni- 
hilation of the whole subject. All we contend for is 
that Doctrine is susceptible of Conviction, History is 
not. If we take away the History, we have destroyed 
the vehicle which contains the Morality, and have 
left nothing. Equally vain would it be for the geome- 
trician to demonstrate his pure propositions, when we 
have deprived him of space. When all the precepts 
are extracted from the History, they will constitute a 
" Science of Pure Morality." But all the History 
in the world will never construct one single p7*ecept. 



294 PREFACE. 

Reason leads directly to the fountain-head of Chris- 
tianity. "As knowledge has advanced, man has in- 
variably changed his belief of the immediate divine 
interference into one of mediate interposition. In the 
early ages of society, God was seen to act in every 
thing; but, as we became more acquainted with the 
laws of nature, these laws we found to be sufficient, in 
order to explain those occurrences which we observe 
in the physical world. The immutability of these laws 
is established in the principle of the omniscience of the 
Deity, who, knowing how every thing will act, does 
not stand in need, when fixing his decrees, of making 
any change hereafter. In divine wisdom there can be 
no improvement — all must be perfect. Thus every 
thing we see in the sensible world, and reason upon in 
the spiritual world, is linked by mediate causes to the 
Supreme Reason — God ! And this is Revealed to 
man by Jesus Christ." 

It is singularly and deeply impressive that whatever 
moral sentiment we meet with in the course of reading, 
whether in perusing the ancient classics or any modern 
production, we trace all these sublime feelings to this 
only genuine " Revelation" of a perfect " System of 
Morality." And, what is still more consoling, there 



PREFACE. 295 

is no other "Book/' either ancient or modern, that 
contains any approximation to a perfect " Science of 
Morals ;" so that what the "Holy Book " has revealed 
to us is in such strict accordance with Reason, that it 
cannot be improved in its essence. Is not this a scientific 
proof of its divine origin ! — for its contrary would be 
the annihilation of Reason. All, therefore, that remains 
for modern enlightenment to effect is to express the 
divine precepts of Jesus in modern phraseology, that 
none of their essence may be lost. 

When my eye meets with such flattering testimonials 
as the following, regarding the utility of my labours in 
promoting the clear explanation and strict simplification 
of the "Scriptures" from clerical men, whose pious 
office it is not only to expound " Holy Writ " but to 
instil the sublime Doctrine of Jesus Christ into the 
very hearts of their hearers, I own I feel myself more than 
rewarded for the time I have devoted to this glorious 
task, which constitutes the chief happiness of my life. 
I could record many instances of praise ; but let these 
suffice, as they breathe the general spirit which per- 
vades the whole. 

" Of your c Divarication' I cannot speak too highly. 
The clearness with which you have separated the His- 



296 PREFACE. 

torical from the Doctrinal matter contained in the 
' New Testament ' has been of the greatest service to 
me in studying the c Sacred Volume/ and will, I think, 
remove the objection under which the Infidel so fre- 
quently shelters himself — that a System of Religion, 
too obscure to be thoroughly understood even by its 
own professors, cannot have a very strong claim on the 
credulity of the sceptic." 

" In your ' Divarication ' I have had much to learn 
from the ingenuity of the Author. I do not see how 
the work could be improved, as the philosophical dis- 
quisitions employed to illustrate the Christian Scheme 
are so clearly expressed." 

The zeal that urged me to lay before the public my 
first effort on the " Separation " of the " Scriptures" 
cannot fail to receive additional fire from sentiments 
like these, which carry the stamp of sincerity upon their 
very face. The idea had long floated in my mind, and 
I could not divest myself of the supposition that it 
might benefit the " Cause of Christ," and could not 
possibly injure that of Religion. I have already ac- 
knowledged with gratitude the remarks of the severer 
critics, which, after all, ought to be more prized as 
conducing to the improvement of the work, and thus 



PREFACE. 297 

causing it to be rendered more fit to be laid before an 
enlightened nation — like the British. I trust they will 
find that I have availed myself of their strictures — 
though sometimes severe — in the present edition ; at 
the same time courting a continuance of the useful 
labours of these improvers of mankind, for the general 
edification of the world. When, however, we find some 
of these critics remarking that every fact of "History" 
is also " Doctrine," we recommend a re-perusal ; and 
hope to hear that whatever was misunderstood in the 
first edition is amply compensated for in these pages. 

The first great benefit arising from the " Divarica- 
tion of the Scriptures " will be the erection of Morality 
and Religion into a " Science,'"' under the appellation of 
the "Sacred Science." Religion and Morality, being 
both spiritual essences, can only be treated scientifically 
upon the principle, already proved — that faith is 
stronger than knowledge. What the world have been 
called upon to believe, as if it were matter of choice — 
the existence of God — proves to be the first axiom in 
the " Sacred Science" — a position so certain, so 
secure, so undeniable, that the individual who calls it 
in question cannot be of sane mind. Without this 
incontrovertible axiom there could be no existence, no 



298 PREFACE. 

thinking — consequently, no Religion at all ; secondly, 
the necessity of the existence of the " Great Spirit" 
being acknowledged requires the immortality of the 
Soul as the second axiom. This is the only possible 
means of fulfilling the Will of Him who made the Soul: 
and what is this but the " Word of God ! " The third 
necessary consequence is — a Future State of rewards 
and punishments, which forms the third axiom in the 
Sacred Science : for Reason will not hold itself guiltless 
and receive more rewards than are its due. 

The most prominent feature of the advantages to be 
obtained from our " Divarication " of the " Scrip- 
tures " will be — perfect unanimity among all rational 
beings on a subject of the most vital importance to 
man — the salvation of his Soul — a subject which, 
merely to settle speculative opinions, has caused more 
barbarity — more bloodshed and acts of cruelty — nay, 
even excesses of torture and martyrdom — who does not 
shudder at the bare mention of the auto da fe! — than 
any subject about which men can differ. All this has 
arisen from the purest sentiments, but for want of Science, 
from the most erroneous opinions of each in favour of 
his own particular Deity ; for his sincere intention is 
that of making himself acceptable to his God, whether 



PREFACE. 299 

it be Woden, the God of the Saxons, or the Father 
of Jesus, the author of the only true " Revelation." 
Even the " Divine Mind " cannot reveal itself to 
matter, or, what is the same thing, to the Instinct of 
animals, without abrogating the laws originally laid in 
matter at its birth \ for, instinct being already the law 
of God, it would not be rational to make a new law to 
annul that already made. Here Consciousness, the true 
characteristic of spirit, is wanting. Hence we have 
fully made out our assertion, and proved to the Con- 
viction of the most determined opponent of our theory, 
that a " Divine Revelation " can be made only to 
the Reason of man. 

<®n ^upersttttmt antr ifttolatrg. 

If ever there was a powerful appeal made to man for 
the accomplishment of a " Divarication " of the 
" Scriptures " into Doctrine and History, it is the 
existence of Superstition — that bane of society — that 
Religion without Morality — that false Religion, con- 
sisting of reverence for things not proper objects of 
reverence, and built upon idle fancies. The perfect 
cure for the epidemic which ravages the human race 
will be the specific offered in these pages. Yet never, 



300 PREFACE. 

till the world is sufficiently enlightened to discriminate 
between " Speculative Reason " and " Practical 
Reason" in their distinct uses, can this specific take 
effect. Superstition will remain, and carry us back to the 
ignorance of the dark ages, if it is not arrested in its 
course by the only antidote — morality — which must 
ultimately "bruise the head of the serpent." 

It is quite clear that all Dogmas are founded on 
History, and are generated by the misuse of Specu- 
lative Reason, whose real object is merely so to 
arrange matter that it may produce the highest gratifi- 
cation of Sense. Consequently, when these Dogmas 
are supposed to concern the salvation of the soul, 
Speculative Reason is employed on an object over 
which it has no power. It somewhat resembles the 
state of that mind which looks upon the types of the 
pure mathematics in printed books, and fancies that it 
is contemplating the mental image, which is the only 
safeguard for that divine science. 

Should Religion be worse off than Geometry, and 
have no sure ground upon which to fix its principles 
permanently and for ever ! The confusion between the 
type and the essence has had its day; and Practical 
Reason comes boldly forward to assert its rights, not 



PREFACE. 301 

only to be heard, but never to be refuted, and hence- 
forward to be adopted by all succeeding generations in 
Time, till our mortal course is run, and we are plunged 
into Eternity only to confirm the perfect purity of 
the Divine Decrees ! 

This horrible perversion of subjecting principle to 
fact amounts to the total annihilation of the whole man. 
This giving the supremacy to Sense, and requiring 
Reason to act only a secondary part — merely to 
heighten our instincts instead of restraining these 
already too unruly desires — -result entirely from founding 
Religion on Dogmas. Religion did we call it ! — 
rather say abominable Superstition — unfortunately 
mistaken for true Religion. "Therefore, I speak to 
them in parables ; because they seeing see not, and 
hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. This 
people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and 
honoureth me with their lips ; but their heart is far 
from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching for 
Doctrine the commandments of men/' 

This perversion of the faculties of the mind must of 
course render man the most abject being on the face of 
the earth, infinitely below the most disgusting reptile, 
whose actions are regulated by a fixed instinct — while 



302 PREFACE. 

man, by pursuing this course, becomes a very demon. 
" Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, 
but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity " — 
in fact, plunged into the very depths of the bottomless 
pit of vice and wickedness, and all for want of a little 
logic. 

Though we have been thus severe in our strictures 
on the effects of " Superstition," as the most dreadful 
and alarming enemy of man, we do not, for a moment, 
suppose that the perpetrators of those horrid atrocities 
which have disgraced the human race are so guilty as 
their acts might induce us to believe. No ! — the fault 
with them is the unpardonable ignorance of acting upon 
a Dogma ! — nay, adopting it not only for truth but 
for Divine Truth ! — thus making the " Great Spirit," 
the very Author of Reason, not only inconsistent but 
irrational ! 

Though we may pardon the fault, we are surely 
warranted in attempting to stem the torrent of iniquity 
which is constantly flowing from such unpardonable 
ignorance. When the Priest, in the fulfilment of his 
pious office in the Idol Temple at Mexico, is regaling 
his God with the most delicious spectacle his piety can 
invent — that of the heart of a man torn reeking from 



PREFACE. 303 

the entrails of the living victim ! — does he not, through 
dreadful ignorance, conceive that no sacrifice can be so 
acceptable to his Deity as the one he now religiously 
offers with the most fervent prayers ! How much 
soever we may pity his ignorance we cannot impugn 
his motive ; for an error of the head is no crime of the 
heart. We are well aware that human sacrifices were 
in use among the heathens ; but such prodigious mas- 
sacres as occur at the dedication of these Temples are 
unparalleled in History. The edifices in which these 
Religious exhibitions take place are called Too-Calli, 
that is, the House of God ! 

" Lo ! the poor Indian ! whose untutored mind 
Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind ; 
His Soul proud Science never taught to stray- 
Far as the solar walk, or milky way ; 
Yet simple Nature to his hope has given, 
Behind the cloud-topt hill, an humbler heaven; 
Some safer world in depth of woods embraced , 
Some happier island in the watery waste, 
Where slaves once more their native land behold, 
No fiends torment, no Christians thirst for gold." 

To witness the complacency with which the High 
Priest descends the hundred steps of his sacred Temple, 
where he has just immolated his victim in a holy sacri- 
fice to his God, would indeed move our wonder. The 



304 PREFACE. 

way to account for this pious zeal is to attribute it to 
the deepest dye of utter ignorance — his Religion being 
founded upon a Dogma. Does his Holiness^ the Vice- 
gerent of Christ, differ much from this Savage, when, 
robed in his inquisitorial dignity, he sentences the 
offender to the severest tortures, to expiate the crimes 
of honest Conscience f The nobleness of the pure 
spirit shines through every thing, when, while being 
broke on the wheel, he retains his veracity, and is true 
to his Conscience and to his God. Thus to be a martyr 
is to be faithful to the truth of Christ even unto death ! 
Who shall venture to calculate the streams of blood 
that have flowed in the early ages of the Church for the 
name of Jesus ! The computation would indeed be 
app ailing ! 

However we may lament the effusion of human blood, 
as a means of reconciling opposite opinions, may we 
not with great justice remark that Christians opposed 
to Christians have caused greater rivers of blood to flow 
for speculative opinions than all the blood ever spilt by 
the Barbarians to suppress the name of Jesus ! But 
let the bitterest zealot or the most bigotted infidel show 
one instance in which the Gospel furnishes the least 
pretence for this pious cruelty. This ocean of blood 



PREFACE. 305 

indicates the grossest ignorance of the attributes of 
God, and his Son, Jesus Christ, and is founded on 
nothing but a Dogma. So much for Superstition ! 

Are not these disgusting scenes lamentable proofs of 
the dire effects of founding Religion upon a Dogma, 
and worshipping material Gods ! Oh ! fatal ignorance ! 
mistaking the type for the essence, substituting material 
substance, which can exist only in Time, for that spirit- 
ual,pu?*e, simple, and permanent substance, the genuine 
inhabitant of Eternity ! Fatal perversion of the facul- 
ties with which God has endowed man, amounting to 
the total destruction of humanity, by reversing the 
natural order of things, making " Practical Reason w 
subordinate to " Speculative Reason ! " Oh ! per- 
verse generation, when will enlightenment fill your 
souls with the pure and unmixed truths of Christianity 
as " Revealed" to you in the " Book of Life l" 

" Oh ! Rome, when pagans possessed thee thou wert 
comparatively honest ; and those blind idolaters were 
saints compared with the nest of scarlet tyrants that 
now dwell with thee. All lesser crimes, as whoredoms, 
thefts, and murders, she can forgive ; but what she 
calls heresy she never pardons. The courtesan keeps 
open shop, pays yearly rent to the treasury of his 



306 PREFACE. 

Holiness, and takes out a license for her trade ; the 
murderer runs to a church, and the gates are open to 
receive him into the sanctuary. But, when heresy is in 
the case, there is not the least tenderness of nature. 
Be astonished, oh, ye heavens ! — and tremble, oh earth I 
Ye nourish men who will destroy all whom they cannot 
deceive, who put out the understandings of all in their 
own community, and tear out the hearts of those who 
are out of it." 

" Nevertheless thou art one of the three mighty and 
enduring spots in the map of universal truth, which 
may be called e the Cities of the Soul ! ' — Greece, 
Rome, and Jerusalem! — to these three the mind 
naturally turns for whatever is valuable in philosophy 
or Religion. It is in these three that the education of 
the human race has proceeded — that the grand process 
of purification and Redemption has been elaborated. 
More or less, in each of these, has the mystery of 
iniquity — that mother of harlots — been manifested, 
developed, but not understood — an unintelligible mys- 
tery, which is, and has been, and shall be, yet shall 
have an end !" 

What has enlightenment not done for the human 
race within the latter few centuries ! The last half 



PREFACE. 307 

century has completely unfolded the nature and ele- 
ments of the Human Mind — ay, indeed, to its very 
essence*. Now, then, we have no pretence whatever 
for remaining in utter darkness and sunk under the 
pressure of horrible superstition. What but the light 
of Reason, which is now exhibited to view in all its 
'purity and in its double application of Speculative 
and Practical, can secure us from the crimes of 
Infidelity, Bigotry, and Fanaticism ! 

The apathy of the learned in suffering a discovery of 
such magnitude to lie fifty years uninvestigated is 
totally unaccountable — " a light to lighten the Gen- 
tiles " — nay, can there be any such thing as Gentiles ? 
— No ! If the " Religion of Christ" is the " Divine 
Revelation," how can there be any other ! The fact 
that the discovery is made of all the " Mental Elements" 
is acknowledged on the Continent, but unknown in our 
happy isle. Yet the learned cannot plead that this 
treasure is a " Sealed Book" for England, because 
its original appeared in German. Many years have 
elapsed since, with my own hand, I disrobed this 
" Masterpiece of Human Reason " of its gothic 

* CRITIC OF PURE REASON — Art. Philosophy, Encyclopaedia 
Londinensis, vol. XX, page 183. 



308 PREFACE. 

attire, and presented it to my countrymen in an English 
garb. 

But for this momentous disclosure of all the trea- 
sures of the " Human Mind," our present task of 
divaricating the " Scriptures" could not have been 
accomplished, the principle upon which the " Divari- 
cation" is founded never before having been brought 
to light. At length that noble Science, " Metaphysics," 
has done more for spirit, by its analysis of the mind, 
than has been done for matter by the discovery of the 
law of gravitation. Now, indeed, we can understand 
what St. John meant when he asked the angel for the 
u little hook" In truth, the Doctrine forms a little 
book, when divaricated from the History ; but a little 
book so pure and so convincing, that it fulfils all the 
angel told John : — " Take it and eat it up ; it will be 
sweet to the mouth of — Reason ; but bitter to the 
belly of — Sense." 

This pure light, though so happily discovered, will 
benefit nothing, if we avail not ourselves of it. " Neither 
do men light a candle and put it under a bushel ; let 
your light so shine before men, that they may see your 
good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 
Oh perverse generation ! — ye serpents ! — ye generation 



PREFACE. 309 

of vipers ! — how can ye escape the damnation of hell ! 
Woe unto you hypocrites ! — ye shut up the kingdom 
of heaven against men — ye go not in yourselves, 
neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in — 
therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation ! For 
I say unto you, there is nothing hid which shall not be 
manifested, nothing concealed which shall not be 
brought to light ! Pour, then, the balm of Gilead into 
the wounded heart \ suppress superstition and idolatry; 
exalt ' Christianity' to the skies — and your reward 
shall be in heaven." 

" Oh Reader ! — thou who livest under a better dis- 
pensation — have a care how thou contractest thy 
mind, and formest narrow notions of the Providence of 
God, in the direction of the world which he created^ in 
the development of the spirit, which is in man, and 
which he has ever and every where informed. Elevate 
thy soul to a contemplation of his doings, on the grand 
scale ; meditate on his omnipresence in all Time, and 
in all Eternity. Be a very Catholic in thy religion, 
but not a Roman Catholic. Rise, then, to the com- 
prehension and the mastery of the absolute truth, as it 
is to be found in the apprehension of the idea of God, 
as it was manifested to the understandings of men, in 

o2 



310 PREFACE. 

the only perfect Image of God — the person of the 
man, Jesus Christ ! " 

Oh ! blessed and glorious discovery of a perfect 
" Science of Mind" — nay, holy and sacred treasure ! 
— It is this alone that secures the "Word of God," 
brings it home to the Conviction of every being en- 
dowed with Reason, and unfolds the only two principles 
which are the true key to understand the spirit of the 
" Scriptures." These two principles are the law of 
matter and the law of spirit. Now, we have already 
proved that the law of matter is Sense, and the law of 
spirit is Reason. 

As Superstition entirely consists of reverence and 
adoration for things unworthy of these pious sentiments, 
it must, indeed, be a willing error if after this full 
development of Reason and Sense we still remain 
under the influence of that horrid demon of the bottom- 
less pit. The deification of matter, the worshipping of 
a graven image, is the grossest idolatry. Hence, when 
we adore any object that affects Sense, we are sunk to 
the lowest, the most abject, the most contemptible, 
state of humanity, for we are under the influence of 
Superstition instead of Religion ! On the other hand, 
when we adore and worship the " Moral Law," which 



PREFACE. 311 

lies in our Reason, we follow the dictates of Christ, who 
walked with the law before him. Reverence for this 
"Law of God" constitutes the very essence oiMorality, 
which is the foundation of " Religion," for religion 
without Morality is blank and barren Superstition. 

But how can we reverence and adore that spiritual 
" Law of God," without at the same time reverencing 
and adoring, in a tenfold degree, the spiritual author of 
this Divine Law — the Great Reason himself ! These 
things are secured to us even unto Conviction by the 
Holy Ghost, that spirit of truth, and only mode of 
communion with our Heavenly Father — which mani- 
fests itself in Conscience. " And because I tell you 
the truth ye believe me not : He that is of God heareth 
God's Words : ye therefore hear them not, because 
ye are not of God : for the kingdom of God is now 
come unto you." 

What overpowering proofs that the Triune Prin- 
ciple is a fit object for religious reverence grow out of 
the analysis of the Human Mind ! First, there could 
not exist a human mind without a Maker, which must 
be the Divine Mind : this instantly generates the Holy 
Spirit of connexion between the Father and Son — 
Beds, \oyos, cruvs^f. Can you reverence the law and 



312 PREFACE. 

not the Law-maker ! Could the law exist if it were 
not made ! Are not these all pure spiritual objects, 
consequently the only fit objects of adoration. Christ 
says, " I am perfect Man and perfect God ! " — that is, 
the \oyo; incarnate. But, to worship the body and blood 
of Christ is as gross idolatry as can be committed by 
the most savage tribes. It is deifying an object of 
Sense instead of adoring an idea of Reason. " I and 
my Father are one ; I am the koyog, the word, the 
6 Doctrine,' which ever constituted a part of my 
Father, who is God ! — Hence I am the Son of God, 
begotten before all worlds — not made, being of the 
substance of the Father, who is a perfectly pure Spirit, 
or the infinite intelligence personified ; yet distinct from 
my Father, in having descended on Earth, or in being 
incarnate, but always in communion with him through 
the Holy Spirit of connexion between us." Hence 
arises the irrefragable doctrine of the Trinity in 
Unity — God the Father ; God the Son ; and God the 
Holy Ghost — and yet there are not three Gods but 
only ONE God, consisting of three persons coeternal 
and coequal. " So that I am in my Father and my 
Father is in me" — which implies the spirit of union 
or connexion between us. 



PREFACE. 313 

Most truly, indeed, may the "Bible" be called the 
Christian's Treasury ; and if we only strictly adhere to 
the plan laid down, of separating those symbols which 
raise pure spiritual ideas — true constituents of Doc- 
trine — from the symbols of impure material sensations 
— true representatives of doubtful History — long, 
indeed, may we draw from this everlasting treasury, 
without exhausting the sacred wealth. By this mode 
of diving into the spirit of truth, we shall always per- 
ceive that the only source of pure precept is Reason, 
and the territory of discordant opinion is Sense. The 
force with which the ideas of Reason, when purified 
from every thing sensual, enter the heart, cannot fail to 
improve our moral conduct ; while all wrangling, con- 
tention, and strife, about discordant opinions on Religion 
will ever be utterly useless ; because, from their very 
nature they are interminable, being founded on re- 
counted sensations, or the affections of Sense. 

The benefits arising from this mode of treating the 
" Sacred Volume" are incalculable. In the first place, 
by proceeding on scientific principles, we accomplish 
the glorious task of erecting a Sacred Science, the 
" Science of Religion," which, by producing perfect 
unanimity among men, shuts out for ever the possibility 



314 PREFACE. 

of disputing on the subject of Religion. Secondly, it 
proves scientifically the words of our Redeemer that 
" the Kingdom of Heaven is within you " — for the 
spring of all moral actions is reverence for the Moral 
Law, that law implanted in our Reason by our Maker, 
and revealed to man by his Son, Jesus Christ. Thirdly, 
this Sacred Science proves that there can be no other 
Religion than that of Christ ; for, that being the true 
one, there can be no contradiction in truth. Fourthly, 
it shows that all deviations from the " Divine Reve- 
lation" are false and spurious religions — nay, abomi- 
nable Superstitions; and all good men ought to unite 
their efforts not only to suppress these frauds on man- 
kind, but never to rest till they are entirely exterminated. 
It is foretold in the " Scriptures" that a day will come 
when a " New and Eternal Gospel" will take place. 
This prophecy evidently alludes to the advances made in 
enlightenment, when men's minds shall proceed so scien- 
tifically that, instead of occupying themselves with specu- 
lation, dispute, and controversy, they will devoutly rest 
their faithon theprecepts of the "Divine Revelation," 
and practise the sublime morality of Jesus. 

Our Saviour has indeed denounced the deepest and 
blackest curse upon the head of him who is under the 



PREFACE. 315 

influence of superstition — that degrading departure 
from the true spirit of the Gospel. Thus saith the 
Redeemer — ■" Wherefore I say unto you, all manner 
of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men ; but 
the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost — this shall not 
be forgiven. For the Holy Ghost will teach you what 
you ought to do and what you ought to say. It shall 
not be forgiven him neither in this world neither in 
the world to come." For Conscience, that Holy 
Spirit of communion between man and his Maker, is 
entirely in our own keeping ; and if we are not honest 
to ourselves can we be honest to others S The first 
fruit of"" Superstition ". is to pretend to believe what 
we can neither conceive nor comprehend — evidently 
then a Dogma. And is this to form the foundation 
of Religion ? — Certainly not of the " Religion of 
Christ," which is the "Religion of Reason." Here 
whatever remains unexplained is not understood, con- 
sequently not Rational. Hence true Religion cannot 
be founded on a Dogma, but on a syllogism approved 
by Conscience. 

To deify any material object is not only to be guilty 
of the grossest Superstition and Idolatry but is actually 
breaking the commandment of the "Book" itself: 

o5 



316 PREFACE. 

" Thou shalt not bow down and worship any graven 
image, or any thing that is on earth." The very 
" Scriptures " denounce this Idolatry. But to worship 
as a God the man Christ is forbidden by our " Saviour" 
himself, who says : " Call ye not me good whom ye 
see 5 no one is good but my Father in heaven, whom 
ye see not." Christ also says: "I am perfect man, 
but the Doctrine I preach is not from myself but from 
my heavenly Father." Of its divinity and purity no 
one can doubt; because it is not only confirmed by, 
but actually founded in, Reason. Here, then, we are 
expressly forbidden by the founder of Christianity to 
consider his mortal body as a God, because it is an 
object of Sense, a thing wholly unfit to be worshipped 
and reverenced as a God. What a confirmation does 
this afford of the correctness of the present division of 
the " Scriptures " into Doctrine and History ! 

A complete knowledge of the strongly marked and 
absolute difference between Reason and Sense can 
never be sufficiently dwelt on, as the only perfect cure 
for Superstition. Reason is a faculty which acts of 
itself — a spontaneity — whence originate all its laws, 
with the "Moral Law" at their head; all of which 
are of divine origin. Hence this Spiritual Faculty is 



PREFACE. 317 

an emanation of the Divinity — and here alone is truth. 
Sense, on the other hand, is a passive faculty, which 
would never act if it were not acted upon — a recepti- 
vity, which waits until some foreign impulse has put 
it in motion : it then reacts ; but reaction is the law 
of matter, and can never engender any thing spiritual 
or any object worthy of being deified. Surely we have 
amply made out our case, by showing that when we 
adore and reverence things of Sense we engender Super- 
stition ; but, when we deify ideas of Reason, we not 
only establish Morality, but at the same time found 
the " Religion of Christ/' which is the only true 
" Catholic Religion." 

It must now be abundantly evident that that which 
acts of itself is spirit, and that which only moves when 
acted upon is matter. The action of spirit is thinking, 
the action of matter is impulsion. Now, the principle 
which acts of itself must of course give laws to itself — 
uvtos vo'po$ — and may well be termed Autonomy. 
Practical Reason we have already shown to be syno- 
nymous with free will. Hence the "Moral Law" 
must arise from the Autonomy of the Will, that is, 
from Practical Reason. The principle which only 
reacts when it is acted upon may be said to receive an 



318 



PREFACE. 



impression before it reacts. Hence something else, 
foreign to itself, must put it in motion : that something 
else gives the law erspo$ vo^og — and this may be termed 
Heteronomy. Speculative Reason, as already ex- 
plained, refers only to the objects of Sense, that is, 
Sensation, or, as it is usually called, matter. As, 
however, matter is inert and cannot act of itself, in 
order that Sense should be acted upon, it is quite clear 
that something foreign must act upon this Faculty. 
When this action is referred to Reason it naturally 
becomes the Heteronomy of the Will. 



AUTONOMY 

of the 

WILL 

arises from 
PRACTICAL REASON, 

and generates 



MORALITY. 



HETERONOMY 

of the 

WILL 

arises from 
SPECULATIVE REASON, 

and generates 



SUPERSTITION. 



That the Autonomy of the Will generates morality 
is evinced by the power we possess of performing 
actions wholly from disinterested motives ; entirely free 
from every inclination and instinct of Sense ; nay, in 
defiance of the whole formidable array of sensual seduce- 
ments. What is this but obeying the voice of Reason, 



PREFACE. 319 

that "Word of God," which shall never pass away, 
but shall endure for ever, because it can exist only in 
Eternity ! Hence the Freedom of the Will is secured 
for ever ! 

Since man is only bound to obey the laws of his own 
Reason, it is quite clear that he is bound to obey no 
laws but what he imposes on himself. It is from this 
principle alone that he can be virtuous, that is, perform 
actions which accord with Reason, and are conse- 
quently good in themselves, without reference to any 
other end whatever. "Thus, then, we realize the 
mode in which Reason acts," and are always rational, 
or, as our Redeemer expresses it, " Do unto others as 
we would they should do unto us." In this manner 
we hope to imitate the divine example of the " Saviour" 
of men, and walk always with the law before us, always 
fulfilling the "Word of God," and keeping the sinful 
lusts of the flesh under command, never indulging the 
inclinations of Sense to the detriment of the Moral 
Law. Then, indeed, shall we be acceptable to God, 
the Infinite Reason, who is our Maker ! 

Now, as men universally concur, through their Reason, 
in the formation of a code of laws, under the title 
of Moral Laws, it is evident that each is bound to 



320 PREFACE. 

Obedience ; and the question, in any particular case, 
whether we have obeyed the law or not, is left to our 
own Conscience. Conscience is, indeed, an internal, 
ever-vigilant judge, who watches all our actions, and 
decides what is conformable to duty and what is con- 
trary to duty. Thus we perceive that when we are 
under the influence of Practical Reason the will is 
free, because it determines itself to action ; the motive 
must be pure, because it is dictated by Reason itself, 
the very originator of " Virtuous Actions.' ' 

The Heteronomy of the Will, on the other hand, gives 
birth to immorality, and consequently to Superstition. 
When we are under the influence of Speculative 
Reason, every thing is interested — every action is 
performed with a view to something else. All these 
views tend to one great aim of our existence — Happi- 
ness — or the gratification of our instincts and inclina- 
tions, even without first submitting them to the rigid 
scrutiny of the " Moral Law : " consequently, all the 
motives must be impure. This is the reason why all 
the wealth and power in the world can never satisfy 
the desires of man, for, by the very constitution of his 
Reason, he is constantly urged on in the pursuit of 
infinite perfection and infinite pleasure. This is the 



PREFACE. 321 

ground of that never-ceasing inquiry — what is it good 
for f — what appetite will it gratify? This never-ending 
cui bono? is a sure sign that we are acting from interested 
motives, and are under the influence of Speculative 
Reason — consequently, entirely "Lost to Virtue." 
Pure Practical Reason, whose object is virtue 
and goodness, in fact, disinterestedness, excludes from 
its sphere all desires that do not spring from this very 
Reason. For, if it concerned itself with any object 
different from Reason, whence could it obtain this 
object but from experience — in other words, from 
Sense ! Experience, however, is the soil of doubtful 
History, where pure Doctrine cannot even take root; 
for Morality must be proved to Conviction by a 
syllogism of Reason, which produces absolute univer- 
sality and strict necessity. Now, the highest principle 
of recorded facts can never produce more than Belief, 
which even then must first be submitted to the tests of 
possibility and probability. Hence it is only through 
the Freedom of the Will that we can act virtuously, 
that is, Realize the mode in which Reason acts. 
This subject is elsewhere treated scientifically*. 



* CRITIC OF PRACTICAL REASON— Art. Moral Philosophy, 
Encyclopaedia Londinensis, page 767. 



322 PREFACE. 

Man, then, arrives at the knowledge of the Moral 
Laws only through the consciousness of the operations 
of his own Reason. Let him only put this question 
to himself : — - (e Is the principle of my conduct such as 
ought to he a universal law for all mankind?" He 
will not find himself at a loss for an answer. Thus, 
though the practice of lying may be attempted to be 
defended as unavoidable — on account of the general 
torrent of moral corruption — yet no one can seriously 
recommend it as a universal laiv of conduct. On the 
contrary, we are compelled to acknowledge the validity 
of the precept enforced by our Practical Reason, 
which tells us with a loud voice that " we ought 7iot 
to lie" upon any pretence whatever, but to be strictly 
virtuous under all circumstances. It must be obvious 
to every one that a Law, in order to be morally valid, 
that is, to be the ground of an obligation, must carry 
with it absolute necessity ; and that the commandment 
— " Thou shalt not lie " — is not valid for man alone, 
but for all rational beings. 

Belief is the measure of ignorance, Conviction is 
the standard of truth. Whatever is proved to Convic- 
tion is placed far beyond all Belief. The existence of 
God, as the Creator of the Universe, and of Practical 



PREFACE. 323 

Reason, is firm beyond all Belief, for it is an axiom 
in the " Sacred Science " — a self-evident truth — a 
proposition immediately assented to, the instant the 
terms in which it is expressed are understood No 
one can believe that a triangle can be composed of 
more or less than three lines. Every body is absolutely 
convinced of the truth of this position. That every 
Effect must have a Cause is an axiom of our thinking 
nature. Its truth is proved in every thought, word, 
and deed, and is established for ever. Substitute for 
Historical Belief u Scientific Faith," and everything 
which the Saviour taught will take deep root in the 
heart. It will not only improve our moral conduct, 
but actually establish for ever the pure "Word of 
God " throughout all the nations of the earth. 

The Ci Holy Bible " is a Book made by the hands of 
man, of material substance ; and, though it contains 
rules of conduct, it must not be confounded with the pure 
Science of Morals, which is wholly spiritual, and ex- 
ists only in the mind — which is Spirit. The Science of 
Morals is a Rational Science, in fact, a Science of Ideas, 
which can never come into Time and Space. This pure 
Science, therefore, can never exist in a Book ; but, as 
it does exist, it must exist wholly and entirely in the 



324 PREFACE. 

Reason of man. A Book or some other material type 
is absolutely necessary to awaken the Science of Morals, 
which lies dormant, and constitutes the very nature and 
essence of our Practical Reason. The strongest 
proof of the truth of our assertion is that the Saviour 
of man employed no Book. No Gospels were written 
when Christ taught his sublime Doctrine. The Re- 
deemer had recourse to parables to enforce his argu- 
ments. "Look at yon sower, who scatters the seed: 
some fall on good ground, and bring forth fruit ; and 
some fall among thorns — the thorns spring up and 
choke them." Here was no "Book" employed to 
instil the Doctrine that good principles, being culti- 
vated in a good heart, bring forth abundantly good 
actions; but, on the contrary, good principles are 
thrown away upon a bad heart. In this way, Jesus 
Christ levelled his Doctrine to every capacity. 

Need we adduce more to show that reverence for any 
thing which can address Sense is the height of Super- 
stition ! Can there be a doubt that this is in perfect 
accordance with the Doctrine taught by our Saviour! 
Did the Holy Bible, the "Book," contain the Moral 
Laiv, we need only possess the Book to render our- 
selves acceptable to God. The absurdity is here too 



PREFACE. 325 

glaring for the most puerile intellect to entertain for one 
moment. Christ says : ■ — "Do the will of my Father 
who is in Heaven, and you will be acceptable in the 
sight of the Lord." Therefore, whoever worships the 
" Book," instead of the Author of Conscience, not only 
sins against the Holy Ghost, but actually contradicts 
the Doctrine, which is contained in the Book itself. 

"Who by searching shall find out God?" — This 
truly momentous question is solved now and for ever 
more : every being endowed with Reason, otherwise 
he knows not his God, he is an Infidel. When God 
made Practical Reason, he revealed His Laws, 
which he meant the man of Sense to obey. At the 
summit of this code, we find the " Moral Law," seated 
on its Divine Throne, commanding as a Divinity. What 
is this but " to find out God!" Find out the "Word 
of God," as revealed by Jesus Christ, and you need 
no better knowledge of your Maker. To render your- 
self acceptable to this Maker, " act strictly in confor- 
mity to the latvs of Practical Reason" — and you will 
then fulfil the Word of God, for Reason is the Word 
of God. This may always be ascertained by that 
Spirit of Truth, the Holy Ghost — Conscience — 
which will never deceive you as to the purity of your 



326 PREFACE. 

motives. What Consciousness effects in material things, 
Conscience performs in spiritual things. The one assures 
us of the presence of objects and events in Time ; the 
other convicts you of the want of purity of the motive 
in Eternity. 

The Word of Man is nothing but the action of 
matter upon matter; the impingement of the tympanum 
by the particles of air that are put in motion from the 
lips of the speaker, to raise sensations in the mind of 
the hearer ; in fact, nothing more or less than material 
drum-sticks to raise sound. What is sound? — Sound, 
strictly speaking, is a sensation excited in the mind by 
the motion of the air on the nerves of the ear. All this 
is strictly material : the air is matter, the sonorous 
body is matter. These, however, are only the Cause 
of sound — the Effect is the Sensation produced in 
the mind of the hearer by an affection of Sense. The 
individual without the sense of hearing cannot have the 
least conception of sound. Take away the vehicle, 
air, and ring the bell under the exhausted receiver — 
then define sound. There exists the same motion in 
the sonorous body ; the Cause, but no sensation — the 
Effect is not produced ; for the ear is not struck by 
the agitated air, as the communication is cut off. 



PREFACE. 327 

The sensations arising from sound flow in such har- 
monious measure when rightly conducted as to produce 
the most delightful feelings in the bosom of the hearer. 
They constitute complete and entire wholes — intelli- 
gent objects ) they move us to tears, or excite us to 
joy. The war song animates the followers of the 
Chieftain. The funeral oration melts us to tears. Alas! 
poor Yorick ! — whose mirth had oft set the table in a 
roar ! And what is all this but the motion of material 
objects to produce sensations in the mind of the hearer ! 
Now, indeed, we see clearly why our Saviour preferred 
using Parables — objects known to all his hearers — 
instead of "Written Books/' whose types might be 
mistaken for the Doctrine he taught. But no one of 
his hearers could possibly be so ignorant as to suppose, 
when Christ referred to the Sower, the grain, and the 
ground, that these material objects were the divine 
doctrines of the Gospel. What ! the Sower the Word 
of God, the Xoyo;, the Reason incarnate ! — impossible ! 
nay, madness ! — a mathematical figure made of matter! 
— sheer nonsense ! Unfortunate and unpardonable sin 
against the Holy Ghost, thus to mistake the type for the 
essence, only to found a horrible Superstition, tending to 
endless disputes and the total annihilation of Religion ! 



328 PREFACE. 

Contrast with this material and earthly account of 
things the genuine "Word op God," the communing 
of Spirit with Spirit, the \6yo$, the Reason, that Christ 
expounded, by means of these material types, which 
he employed only to awaken the Sense of his hearers, 
with the ultimate view of putting their Reason into 
play to raise ideas — things of Reason — suitable to 
the dignity and sublimity of the divine Doctrine of the 
Gospel, and your notions of the Divinity of Christ will 
be complete. So says the Redeemer : " I am the \6yo$, 
the word, the Doctrine, the Reason incarnate, which 
is not from myself, but has descended from my Father, 
who is in Heaven." The Quakers have a very exalted 
notion of the communing of spirit with spirit, or the 
Word of God. Worship is an act of the Soul with 
regard to its Maker. God is a Spirit ; the Soul is a 
Sjririt. The acts of pious devotion, therefore, consist 
of the communing of spirit with spirit : in this hallowed 
intercourse, words are not essentially necessary, be- 
cause He who is a spirit understands the language of 
the spirit. On this ground this peaceful Society of 
Friends defend their silent meetings. They come to 
their Religious Worship, sit down in silence, and wait 
for the assistance of that Spirit which helpeth our 



PREFACE. 329 

infirmities, and without which we know not what we 
pray for. " At times we feel the spirit making inter- 
cession for us, and believe that a secret aspiration will 
be more acceptable to the Father of Spirits than any 
form of words previously prepared for us, that does not 
come from the heart.'" " Here we feel those divine 
influences upon the mind^ which constitute the highest 
enjoyment of man upon earth." " Verily thou art a 
God that hidest thyself, Oh God of Israel, the Saviour 1" 
" A state of humble silent waiting we consider to be 
more suitable to the dependence of the Creature on the 
Creator, than rushing unprepared into those external 
acts of devotion, which are no farther acceptable than 
as they come from the heart." " Thus we draw nigh 
unto God through the spirit of his Son, Jesus Christ, 
and feel the communion of the Holy Ghost awakened 
in our Conscience. In this manner we escape the sin 
of drawing nigh unto God with our lips, whilst the 
heart is far from him." Our blessed Redeemer says : — 
" The hour cometh, and now is when true worshippers 
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth" 

The communion of Sjririt with Spirit constitutes 
the essence of prayer ; while the mere motion of the 
material lips are only the type to indicate to man that 



330 PREFACE. 

the mind is occupied in pouring forth praises to its 
maker — in acts of devotion. Want of genuine sincerity 
is always detected by the knower of hearts, who is 
himself Divinity. Poor humanity, alas ! has not the 
power of ascertaining this divine property in the 
devotion of its fellow men, for the lips often belie the 
inward man, and make the hypocrite appear to be the 
true worshipper. 

The total impossibility of man to scrutinize the 
motives of man must necessarily subject the writer of 
these pages to many false and erroneous judgments. 
That his efforts in presuming to venture on expounding 
the " Scriptures" on the principle of Divarication 
will be misunderstood, misrepresented — nay, even his 
motives impugned — there can be no doubt. So per- 
verse is humanity as to assume motives when men have 
not the power to Judge. These assumptions are the 
very judgments that the Saviour reproved on the 
mount : — " Judge not, that ye be not judged. For 
with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged : and 
with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you 
again. Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy 
brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in 
thine own eye ! — How wilt thou say to thy brother, 



PREFACE. 331 

let me pull the mote out of thine eye, and, behold, a 
beam is in thine own eye ! Thou Hypocrite, first cast 
the beam out of thine own eye ; and then shalt thou see 
clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye." 
Nay, I have been admonished by true and legitimate 
divines to refrain from innovations like the present, and 
to consider oiiat lam treading on aivful and dangerous 
ground. These kind friends have my warmest thanks 
for their advice. Yet, with these admonitions before me, 
I cannot desist from obeying what I regard as a higher 
authority — the dictates of my own Conscience — that 
Spirit of Truth which Christ says " will tell you what 
you ought to say." Nor will I shrink from the task, 
though I am deeply impressed with the truth of the 
above observation; still I feel that I stand reconciled 
with my Maker, whatever fate my fellow men may 
reserve for me. 

" He who presumes to make men wiser and better 
than they are, whether in Religion, Politics, or Morals, 
must make up his mind to bear in turn the abuse of all 
parties — to be the victim of ingratitude proportioned 
to the benefits he has conferred on society — to be 
cursed by those whom he has blessed — in a word, to 
be anathematized and excommunicated of men, till 

p 



332 PREFACE. 

Time, who sinks the falsehood and draws forth the truth 
— let it be deeper than ever plummet sounded — has at 
last done him justice, by the just award of posterity." 

" And shall we fear Superstition now ? — Now that 
we have advanced from dawn to noon — now that the 
full light of Science has arisen over all the nations, and 
is rapidly attaining the zenith of its glory ! — It were, 
indeed, a base abandonment of Reason — of that 
Reason which forms the foundation of our Faith — if 
now we quailed. Let us then meet Superstition in 
the field of Reason, armed with the shield of faith 
and the sword of the divine word — and who need fear 
the issue of the combat — but they to whom such a 
field is strange — they who have cast away that buckler, 
and know not how to wield that sword, which for cen- 
turies they have neglected to handle ! — A zeal for the 
( Scriptures ' such as no former times have witnessed 
hath arisen ; and the same feeling by which our fathers 
were delivered from the tyranny and more intolerable 
impostures of the Romish Church is manifesting itself 
anew — to uphold the religious freedom which we have 
inherited, and to extend the privileges and the blessings 
of that freedom unto the people who sit in darkness, 
and in the shadow of death." 



PREFACE. 333 

Superstition is a Religion taken up and believed in 
from the i( Word of Man ;" while true Religion must 
consist wholly of pure principle — the precepts delive red 
by our Saviour — which it is out of the power of man 
either to confute or to communicate to his fellow-man 
to absolute Conviction — because it must be the work- 
ings of man's own Reason — and then only is he sure 
that it is the Word of God. The perfecting and 
propagating " Moral Philosophy" is the most effectual 
means of establishing "true Religion in the heart," 
and " vindicating the ways of God to man." Wherever 
there exists a human mind, there is a Temple con- 
secrated to the service of the Deity ! But Superstition, 
that foul vice, perverts even this Sacred Temple to the 
purposes of Sensuality. 

Now what says Dr. Buchanan ? "I have witnessed 
the Pagan Idolatry in all its turpitude and bloodshed, 
and no man can know what it is who has not seen it. 
T have seen libations of human blood offered to the 
Moloch of the heathen world, and the prominent cha- 
racters of idolatry are the same as in the e Scriptures ' 
— cruelty and lasciviousness, blood and impurity. The 
prostitution of the heart to sensual images in the daily 
worship is the deep and prolific source of general im- 

p2 



334 PREFACE. 

purity in the heart, and indecency of speech and action. 
Let our Christian Nation, then, behold the Hindoo 
people, falling prostrate before a black stone, and that 
stone an indecent emblem. On great solemnities, 
women, in the frenzy of false devotion, throw them- 
selves down before the wheels of the car that exhibits 
their God and are crushed to death !" 

To complete the deplorable History of the horrid 
vices engendered by Superstition, that corrupter of 
the heart and destroyer of true " Religion," we need 
but turn to Remusat, who boldly affirms : — " I fear 
not to be confuted when I assert that a man who has 
not read any of the Buddhist Books must be ignorant of 
the extent of human extravagance, and unable to form 
an adequate conception of the degree of absurdity into 
which the human mind may be conducted by medita- 
tions ivithout aim, and the application of disjointed 
abstractions to subjects which pass all understanding." 

Oh ! Philosophy and Religion ! let me address you in 
the words of Milton : " Go on hand in hand — never 
be disunited ! Be the praise and heroic song of all 
posterity ! Seek only virtue, and to settle the pure 
6 Worship of God ' in his Church ; then shall the 
hardest difficulties smooth out themselves before ye — 



PREFACE. 335 

envy shall sink to hell — craft and malice be con- 
founded. Then will every one covet to serve ye — for 
lordship and victory are but the pages of justice and 
virtue. Join your invincible might to do worthy and 
godlike deeds — »■ and he that seeks to break your 
union, a cleaving curse be his inheritance to all genera- 
tions ! " 

In the fervent hope that this scientific exposition of 
the gross and glaring error in judgment which still 
chains down man to the horrors of u Superstition" — 
an evil so severely denounced by our Saviour — - may 
induce stronger and more able advocates in the pious 
cause of true " Religion" to enter the lists, and do 
mortal fight with the hideous monster, till he shall be 
totally extirpated from the face of the earth — we leave 
the subject with a calm conscience, under the impression 
that something is done to promote that laudable end. 
That the spirit of the "Divine Revelation" will 
blaze forth in the full effulgence of etherial light, which 
will penetrate the understandings of the heathen, both 
civilized and savage, is the least benefit that will be 
derived from employing the sivord of Science to gain 
the conquest. The most important benefit will be the 
fulfilment of the very " Revelation" itself, by giving 



336 PREFACE. 

it that absolute universality — the true x«0o;uxo$ — which 
Science alone can command through that powerful 
engine of the human mind — " Practical Reason." 

<&n t\)t Human pature at Cijrtet. 

The Historical Records relating to Jesus Christ as a 
Man, being first tried by the indispensable criteria of 
possibility and probability , are most certainly as worthy 
of credit as any History that has descended to our 
day. Whatever passes these two impassable barriers 
must of necessity be treated as a chimera, and con- 
sidered as a flight of eastern imagination, which, from 
our utter ignorance of the import of these types, cannot 
have the least weight with us. Niebuhr has shown that 
the origin of the Roman history is fabulous; why, 
therefore, may not some fable have crept into the early 
History of the Primitive Christians ! 

Whatever tends to confirm and corroborate the 
History of the Primitive Christians must naturally 
excite an intense interest in all the lovers of the only 
Ci True Religion/' more particularly as the enemies of 
Christianity have been indefatigable in endeavouring to 
invalidate every testimony that could prove the exist- 
ence of the " Man Christ " — nay, these revilers of the 



PREFACE. 337 

Gospel far surpass the Jews in their inveterate hatred 
of the Founder of Christianity. — The chosen people of 
God, the Jews, never attempted to deny the existence 
and ministry of the Man Christ ; but, from severe dis- 
appointment at not finding the Messiah, who was to be 
their king, arrayed in royal purple, and decked in all 
the pomp of regal state, they are content to brand this 
humble individual with the appellation of — false pro- 
phet : whereas the more enlightened enemies of Chris- 
tianity at the present day go so far as to deny the 
existence of Christ altogether. — Oh ! miserable display 
of folly and rancour ! Do the Gospels exist? — Yes. 
Then they had an Author -, and the only dispute that 
can be raised is, whether it was Christ or some one 
else. 

Can there be a more futile occupation or a more 
ridiculous loss of time than that of attempting to dis- 
prove the existence of the author of any certain work 
as handed down to us ; more particularly when that 
work contains a Science, whose principles come home 
to the Conviction of every individual ! What benefit 
could possibly be derived from disputing the right of 
Euclid to the honour of having collected and arranged 
the "Elements of Geometry !" — Would the Science 



338 PREFACE. 

suffer were this proved not to be the fact ? Certainly 
not. — Why then disturb the long established belief that 
Jesus Christ really spoke those Divine Parables which 
the inspired writers have recorded, and which prevail 
at the present day 1 The complete and perfect " Science 
of Morals " contained in the New Testament — being 
a strict and pure Science of Practical Reason — can 
neither be confirmed nor confuted by any Historical 
relations, but must maintain its dignity entirely by its 
own purity, from internal evidence, which can neither 
be strengthened nor weakened by any thing drawn 
from History. This Science must either stand or fall 
upon the Conviction produced in the mind of every 
Rational Creature. 

We shall, therefore, avail ourselves with avidity of 
everything that confirms the well authenticated History 
of the birth, ministry, and crucifixion, of Jesus Christ. — 
Is it to be conceived, for a moment, that, in the most 
enlightened and prosperous times of the Romans, and 
in the heart of a populous city like Jerusalem, facts of 
such notoriety as the trial and condemnation of a sup- 
posed Messiah did not take place ! — Who will venture 
to deny that Pontius Pilate was Governor of Judea, 
then a Roman Province, and that this judge, finding no 



PREFACE. 339 

fault in the accused person, endeavoured to save his 
life ; and that, to save his own credit also, he referred 
the case to the high Priest of the Jews ! 

It is a well known fact that at that time the power 
of life and death was wrested from the Sanhedrim, and 
vested in the Roman Governor. This fully accounts 
for the pertinacity of the Jews, in obtaining the con- 
demnation of this false prophet from Pilate. Mount 
Calvary bears witness to the Crucifixion ! Now, the 
only question that presents itself is— Did these facts 
really take place, or did they not ! — Did Caesar reign 
or did he not ! — Which of these Historical records 
makes the strongest claim upon our belief! — Surely 
the one is as well authenticated as the other. Why, then, 
doubt either ! — But, since no History can in the least 
impugn the purity of the Doctrine handed down to us in 
the " Sacred Volume," why agitate the question at all ! 
History can form no part of Doctrine, the one 
being a record of events in Time, while the other is a 
development of principles in Eternity. The whole 
intent of the Divarication is to show the discordance 
between Doctrine and History; to show that the 
ingredients constituting these two opposite component 
parts of "Holy Writ" are susceptible of the clearest 

p5 



340 PREFACE. 

definition and most decided distinction. The proof of 
Doctrine must be the universal assent of all mankind ; 
while the highest point to which History can attain 
is merely the greatest degree of probability. — Certainty 
it never can attain ! — The reason of this distinction 
becomes quite evident, when we reflect, as we have 
repeatedly shown, that principles which alone constitute 
Doctrine must reside in Eternity, consequently, be 
both necessary and universal. Facts, on the contrary, 
which constitute History, are evanescent things in 
Time, which have a limited duration and are contingent. 
After this full and complete analysis of these two hete- 
rogeneous elements, it really must be a willing error 
to confound such opposite things as "Doctrine " and 
" History." Our Diagram not only confirms this dis- 
tinction but actually renders it intuitive to the appre- 
hension of children of a tender age. 

It might be obj ected that this very Diagram produces 
confusion instead of distinctness, because, in exempli- 
fying the Trinity which exists in nature, of blue, red, 
yellow, it introduces a fourth member — white. This, 
however, is its greatest merit ; for a compound of the 
three primitive colours actually produces white. When 
a ray first proceeds from the great parent of light, the 



PREFACE. 341 

Sun, it surely must be deemed white. Yet, when the 
prism is applied to this Unity, it immediately separates 
it into three heterogeneous elements. So that in fact 
that which strikes the observer on a cursory view as a 
blemish is without doubt the consummate philosophy 
of the entire Diagram. 

The discovery of the philosophy of light is perhaps 
one of the happiest circumstances that ever occurred 
for displaying to the Sense of man a material "Trinity 
in Unity." All this is effected by the motion of matter 
upon matter, and is only an approximation to purity. 
Mind, which is evinced by thought, then pursues this 
thread, and, by its syllogistic power, which originates 
in Reason, proves beyond belief — nay, even to abso- 
lute Conviction — that a spiritual "Trinity in Unity" 
constitutes the very essence of the Author of Light. 
The immortal Newton has demonstrated that every ray 
or pencil of light that emanates from its visible author 
— that refulgent orb which diffuses its light and heat 
to all nature, not only animating but generating light 
and life to all God's creatures — is perfectly colourless, 
and is conventionally expressed by the term ivhite. This 
white ray of light is ever regarded as a simple, uncom- 
pounded thing. Yet this great Philosopher of light has 



342 PREFACE. 

dissected this apparent oneness, and convinced all the 
world that this singleness is a compound of the three 
primitive colours — blue, red, yellow. 

Is not, therefore, this sage " a light to enlighten the 
Gentiles ! " since he has taught us so to read the book 
of nature as to discover the great truth — that in every 
single thing that presents itself we behold the emblem 
of its "Great First Cause" — a Trinity in Unity. 
We have feebly attempted to do justice to this great 
enlightener of mankind in our Diagram, by making that 
brilliant star of white issuing from "Jehovah" — the 
Creator not only of light but of all creation — with a 
view of representing the Unity or oneness of the three 
primitive colours. Then, indeed, we have availed our- 
selves of the prismatic colours, as taught by the great 
"Philosopher of Light," to display these colours in 
their elemental simplicity. So that he who runs may 
read — and thus feel in his heart the very essence of what 
we are labouring to prove — nay, if the road we have 
marked out is followed, is most convincingly proved — 
that 

Every thing consists of a TRINITY IN UNITY. 

How, then, dare we omit the Omnipotent, Omni- 
present, and Eternal Being, who originates the principle 



PREFACE. 343 

because it constitutes his very essence. We need now 
no longer wonder that the "Sun " — that resplendent 
luminary — should be worshipped and adored by all the 
nations of the earth in the infancy of Science, more 
particularly as even the minutest ray of its blessed light 
contains the germ of that stupendous Doctrine revealed 
by Jesus Christ — a "Trinity in Unity." Thus, 
then, through the medium of Sense has religion been 
awakened in the mind, and ultimately confirmed by that 
distinguishing characteristic of humanity — Reason. 

To return, however, to the proofs of the authenticity 
of the existence of the " Man Christ/ 5 — We have often 
observed the delight shown by the antiquary and the 
historian on the discovery of some medal or ancient 
coin, in the hope that it may be made useful in settling 
some disputed point in Roman or Grecian history; and 
if successful in their researches their joy is complete. 
How, then, shall we hail the discovery of a Medal that 
shall place beyond dispute the existence of the Man 
Christ — a medal worn by his disciples during his 
ministry, in token of their holy office — that of propa- 
gating pure Morality and founding Christianity ! This 
medal bears the effigy of the " Saviour " and enlightener 
of mankind, marked with the first letter of the Hebrew 



344 PREFACE, 

alphabet, K, which was employed as a numeral, to 
indicate the first year of Christ's Crucifixion. It has 
ai in appropriate inscription in Hebrew, referring to 
the labours of the Apostles. 

It is by the well known liberality and kindness of 
the Rev. Dr. Walsh, chaplain to our Turkish Ambas- 
sador, that we are enabled to gratify the reader with a fac- 
simile of this truly important medal. This gentleman's 
acknowledged skill in the investigation of ancient coins 
adds great weight to the probability of the above state- 
ment. We shall therefore give his account of this 
valuable discovery in his own words. 

In the year 1812, a peasant, in the county of Cork, in Ireland, 
was digging potatoes, accompanied by his daughter, who picked 
them up as they were thrown above the ground. Among them she 
found, encrusted with clay, what she thought to be a large button, 
and, handing it to her father, he rubbed the edge on the sleeve of 
his coat, and in a short time it became bright, like gold. He now 
imagined he had gained a prize, and proceeded with it to his landlord, 
Mr. Corlett, a gentleman of Cork, of the Society of Friends. He 
further cleaned it, and found it to be an antique medal of singular 
structure and device. On one side was the head of our Saviour, 
and on the other a Hebrew inscription ; both, however, considerably 
injured by time. As the place where the potatoes were planted had 
been the site of a very ancient monastery, coeval with the first 
introduction of Christianity into Ireland, but of which even the ruins 
had long since disappeared, it was imagined, with every probability, 
that this medal had been brought into Ireland by some of the 
religious community at a very early period, and as such was an 



PREFACE. 345 

object of great interest. Fac-similes, therefore, were taken from 
it, and sent about ; and in a short time it excited in no slight degree 
the attention of the learned, and various conjectures were made a« 
to its age and origin. 

About this time a medal of a similar kind came into my possession, 
obtained from a Polish Jew at Rostoc in Germany ; and, on com- 
paring it with that found in Ireland, it appeared to be an exact 
counterpart, and struck from the same dye. As it had not suffered 
the same injuries from attrition and erosion, it was in a highly 
perfect state of preservation, and the letters, which were much 
injured in the former, and caused some obscurity in the inscription, 
were in this sharp and distinct as when they were struck. But the 
bust of Christ was singularly beautiful : it had a pensive sublimity 
in its air and character that exactly accorded with our ideas of its 
great prototype, as if he had sat for the picture ; and the execution 
denoted it to have been the production of an era when the arts were 
in the highest vigour. It appeared, by a memoir presented with it 
to the Royal Irish Academy, that it was first mentioned by Theseus 
Ambrosius, and after him had been a subject of inquiry by the 
learned in Europe for more than two centuries; that it made its 
first appearance in Rome under Julius II. when the Venus de 
Medici and other long-lost productions of ancient art were again 
brought to light; ; that inferior copies of it were multiplied, with 
slight variations ; but that the original was not a coin, but a tessera, 
or dye, struck by the first Jewish converts to Christianity^ and worn 
by them as a pious memorial of their Master ; and finalty, that the 
date was indicated by the Hebrew letter Aleph on the obverse, 
which then, as well as now, represented the numeral I, and indicated 
that it was struck in the first year after the resurrection. 

In the annexed medal the obverse represents the head of our 
Saviour as described in the letter said to be sent by Lentulus to 
Tiberius ; his hair divided after the manner of the Nazarenes, plain 
to his ears, and waving on his shoulders; his beard thick, not long 
but forked, the face beautiful, and the bust fine ; over the whole 
the tunic falls in graceful folds. On the obverse is the Hebrew 



346 PREFACE. 

letter tf aleph, representing the numeral I., supposed to stand for 
the date ; and — ijttP — " Jesus." On the reverse is this inscription 
on the field— ^n *\W D"WB "Wl oftttfl K2 ^D WWD 

T *t TT-- : t: t - t - -.: 

— » The Messiah has reigned — he came in peace, and, being made 
the light of man, he lives." 




As Christianity expanded itself through the world, its professors 
began to suffer those persecutions which had been predicted by its 
Divine Author. The first commenced under Nero, and was renewed 
with various degrees of severity till the reign of Diocletian, when 
an effort was made to extirpate the religion of Christ, so extensive 
and persevering, that nothing less than a divine interposition seemed 
to have preserved it from total extinction. Diocletian was born in 
Dalmatia, in the year of Christ 245 ; and, on the death of Nume- 
rianus, was saluted Emperor by the army at ChalcEedon, near 
Constantinople, in 284. He was himself a man of mild, philosophic- 
character, but was instigated by his colleague in the empire, Gale- 
rius Maximianus. This atrocious man was born in Dacia: his 
father was unknown, but he himself gave out that his mother con- 
ceived, on the banks of the Danube by Mars, in the shape of a 
serpent. Among other observances, by which the Christians were 
now distinguished, was their abstaining from meats offered to idols. 
This so offended the mother of Galerius that she made it a pretext 
for urging her son to persecute them, who was himself greatly 
inclined to it ; and after much entreaty he obtained, in the year 
302, from Diocletian, those dreadful edicts which have justly stig- 
matized the character of that Emperor. Armed with this authority, 



PREFACE. 347 

the Christians, who were at this time spread over all the provinces 
of the vast Roman Empire, were every where pursued ; and I have 
visited, in the Gulf of Nicomedia and other remote places in the 
East, caverns in the sides of nearly inaccessible mountains, where 
they endeavoured to find refuge and concealment during this dismal 
period. Many of the saints and martyrs recognized by the Greek 
church perished on this occasion ; and they still show, in the church 
of St. Euphemia at Chalcsedon, the implements of torture by which 
she and numbers of her friends were put to death. In this way, 
historians assert that in one province alone 750,000 Christians per- 
ished by various kinds of cruel deaths ; and so complete was supposed 
to be the extirpation of the sect, that coins were struck and the 
following inscriptions set up, recording the fact that the Christian 
superstition was now utterly exterminated and the worship of the 
gods restored by Diocletian, who assumed the name of Jupiter, and 
Maximian, who took that of Hercules. 

DIOCLETIANVS IOVIVS ET 
MAXIMIAN : HERCVLEVS 

cms: avg: 

amplificato per orientem et occidentem 

imp: rom : 

ET 

mom: christianorvm 
deleto qvi 
remp : ever 

TEBANT 

" Diocletian Jove and Maximian Hercules, August Caesars, having 
increased the Roman Empire in the east and west, and extirpated 
the Christians who were overturning the Republic." 

DIOCLETIAN : CJES ] 
Ave: GALERIO IN ORI 

ente svpers 

titione christ: 

vbiqve deleta et cvl 

tvdeor: propagato 

" To Diocletian Caesar and Augustus Galerius in the east, having 

every where extirpated the Christian superstition and restored the 

worship of the Gods." 



348 PREFACE. 

It is not more remarkable than true that the above 
statement is corroborated in all its minutiae by that 
celebrated letter of Lentulus. Every lineament of the 
face as here described corresponds exactly with the 
delineation on the medal; nay, the very flowing of the 
auburn locks on the shoulders of the "Saviour" is faith- 
fully depicted : so that one would be led to suppose 
that the medal or some similar representation lay before 
Lentulus while writing this account of the prophet 
for the information of his government. Perhaps the 
"Man Christ" himself struck his vision while preaching 
his sublime Doctrine to the multitude, and enforcing 
those divine precepts which he had received from his 
heavenly Father. — No wonder, then, that the Roman 
prefect was deeply impressed with the display of elo- 
quence that flowed from the "Saviour" — nay, that 
he even felt an awe and reverence for his person is 
evident from every line of that admirable letter. There 
can be no doubt that this official communication has 
formed the groundwork of all those representations that 
have happily descended to us, and are regarded at the 
present day as faithful images of the "Redeemer" of 
mankind. Such corroboration and correctness afford the 
most powerful proof of the truth of the historical record 



PREFACE. 349 

— - nay, absolutely overpowering proofs of the existence 
of the facts that have taken place. We are happy to 
have it in our power to lay before our readers this 
important document. 

PUBLIUS LENTULUS, 

PRESIDENT IN JUDEA IN THE REIGN OF TIBERIUS C.ESAR, 
TO THE SENATE OF ROME. 

Conscript Fathers, 

There appeared in these our days a man of 
great virtue, named Jesus Christ, who is yet living among us, and 
of the Gentiles is accepted for a Prophet of Truth ; but his own 
Disciples call him the Son of God. He raiseth the dead, and cureth 
all manner of diseases. A man of stature somewhat tall and comely, 
and in proportion of body well shaped ; his hands and arms delectable 
to behold, with a very reverend countenance, such as the beholders 
may both love and fear. His hair is of the colour of a filbert full 
ripe to his ears, whence downward it is more orient of colour, some- 
what curling or waving about his shoulders. In the midst of his 
head is a seam or partition of his hair, after the manner of the 
Nazarites. His forehead is plain and delicate. His face, without 
spot or wrinkle, beautified with a comely red. His nose and mouth 
are exactly formed. His beard is thick, the colour of his hair, not 
of any great length, but forked. His look innocent and mature. 
His eyes grey, clear, and quick. In reproving he is awful; in 
admonishing, courteous and friendly ; in speaking, very temperate, 
modest, and wise. It cannot be remembered that any have seen 
him laugh, but many have seen him weep. A man for his singular 
beauty surpassing the children of men. 

More proofs, surely, need not be adduced to convince 
us of a fact so well established as the existence of the 



350 PREFACE. 

Man Christy or we might refer to other profane writers, 
as Tacitus, Josephus, &c. That such a sect as Chris- 
tians exist at the present day is quite certain. Hence 
it must have had an origin. That this origin is of 
considerable antiquity may be gathered from the various 
persecutions of the Christians recorded in profane 
History. We find that, as early as the year of our Lord 
41, Herod, King of the Jews, instituted a persecution 
against the Christians, and imprisoned Peter. Now, 
as the Crucifixion of our Saviour took place in the year 
33, which ended Christ's ministry, and at a period of 
only eight years from that time, we find that a Jewish 
Monarch persecutes the Christians — surely this is a 
demonstrative proof that this religious sect was suf- 
ficiently formidable to attract the notice of that Poten- 
tate. 

Roman History teems with persecutions, councils, 
and Popes \ all confirmatory of the existence of a 
religious sect called Christians. As early as the year 
64 of the Christian era, we are gravely told by Roman 
History that the Emperor Nero raised a violent per- 
secution against the Christians ! If Nero reigned, then 
Christians existed — or he could not have persecuted 
them. This same History records a most dreadful 



PREFACE. 351 

persecution of the Christians by the Emperor Domitian, 
A.D. 95 — sufficient evidence of the great increase of 
numbers in the religious sect called Christians. These 
persecutions recurred under various Emperors, until the 
year 306, when Constantine the Great arrested the 
progress of this horrible mode of punishment for the 
sake of opinion, by establishing "Christianity" as the 
true Religion, and suppressing paganism — nay, he 
even destroyed the heathen temples. This Emperor 
assembled the first general Council, which was held at 
Nice in Natolia, A.D. 325, and consisted of the various 
bishops and learned men of the Christian faith. It was 
at this celebrated Council that the Arian controversy 
was settled and the Creed of Athanasius voted canonical. 
Here also were selected the four Gospels, which at 
present constitute the " New Testament/' 

Profane History proceeds regularly from this period 
in confirmation of the existence of this sect, without 
referring to the respectable authorities of the Greek 
and Latin Fathers. It were needless to proceed farther 
in the devious path of History to establish facts that 
leave little room for doubt, and to show that the Reli- 
gion of Christ has descended to us in an uninterrupted 
line. That the primitive purity of this sublime Religion 



352 PREFACE. 

should have been corrupted to serve worldly purposes 
is more than probable; more particularly when we 
reflect that during the dark ages learning was exclusively 
confined to the cloister. 

Be it our task to restore the Doctrine to its primitive 
purity and pristine vigour. — When it is thus refined and 
purified^ we shall find that it will take such hold on the 
soul that no human being can exempt himself from the 
demands which this perfect "Science of Morals " makes 
upon his Conscience. The advantage gained by clearing 
away the never to be reconciled differences of History 
is incalculable, and will for ever crush all dispute and 
cavil as to the divine source of these perfect morals. This 
confirms our statement that " Reason " is the fountain of 
pure truth, which constitutes Doctrine ; and " Sense " 
is the ground of all the illusions and contradictions that 
occur in History. We need no further inducement 
to adopt the one and reject the other than arises from 
the love of truth and the hatred of falsehood. 

Thus, then, is pure CHRISTIANITY established for ever ! 

It is a remarkable fact that numbers of intelligent 
and thinking beings have united themselves into a sect, 
which has been distinguished by the epithet — Infidel. 



PREFACE. 353 

These persons have exerted their efforts to repudiate 
Christianity altogether. — What shall we say of the 
secret workings of Providence, when it is shown that 
their most severe and acrimonious endeavours to pro- 
duce this effect have furnished the highest panegyric 
that can be bestowed on the founder of this Religion , 
and the strongest corroboration of the statement of the 
ct Saviour " of himself. 

Christ says, I am perfect Man and perfect God. The 
meaning of this assertion evidently is, that, when he 
refers to his own worldly actions, he proceeds according 
to the laws of matter, gravitates like other matter, and 
is affected by inclinations, and thus is perfect Man. 
On the contrary, when he is teaching the "Divine 
Science of Morals " to his disciples and the multitude, 
then he is perfect God. What can be more divine than 
the " Word of God," the \6yo$, the Reason — which 
is an emanation from the Deity — and which Christ was 
sent to unfold ! In the performance of this Holy Office, 
therefore, he says — "lam the word, the Xoyo$; and 
whoever believes in me shall be saved " — that is, who- 
soever does the will of my Father — Qe oc — or, in our 
scientific language, " He who fulfils the " Moral Law,' ' 
seated in his own Reason — not in a printed Book — 



354 PREFACE. 

will be acceptable to his Maker, and inherit the kingdom 
of Heaven ; because such conduct alone is approved 
by the Holy Ghost, that Spirit of Truth — our own 
Conscience — o-uvsp^j. 

It really moves our wonder to be told that a class of 
rational beings, merely from being puzzled in their logic, 
when investigating " Holy Writ/' should be fully bent 
on destroying the high authority of these writings ; and 
yet that, with their minds filled with these sentiments, 
their efforts should turn out to be essentially instru- 
mental in proving the human nature of Christ. Should 
we fail in establishing that Christ is perfect Man, we 
shall have failed in our duty in developing the true 
Character of the Saviour, whose own words are : "T am 
perfect Mem." Now, to be perfect Man is actually to 
be imperfect, that is, to be an inhabitant of the blue 
field of our Diagram — Time; while absolute perfec- 
tion can alone reside in the yellow rays of Eternity. 
The leading distinction between humanity and Divinity 
is that the one can only approximate to perfection, and 
the other can consist of nothing short of absolute per- 
fection. 

Some of the points adduced by this class of reasoners, 
for the purpose of invalidating the " Sacred Text," but 



PREFACE. 355 

which really tend to establish its truth, are here enu- 
merated. When Christ was only twelve years of age 
he disputed with the Doctors in the Synagogue. Mary 
and Joseph had proceeded on their return home, one 
day's journey, when they missed the infant Christ. 
The feelings of the mother urged her to return in 
search of her lost child. On meeting with him, she 
rebuked him for want of affection, when the infant 
Christ replied — "I am about my Father's business." 
The Infidels, taking advantage of this apparent want of 
reciprocal feeling, say that such conduct savours more 
of humanity than of divinity. We perfectly agree with 
the Infidel in his statement, only we infer a most happy 
conclusion from his premises : — that it proves the 
humanity of Christ at an early age, and at the same 
time shows the zeal which he felt for the Holy Office 
to which he was appointed. 

It is not difficult to account for the display of pre- 
cocious intellect in the infant Christ in disputing with 
the Doctors in the Synagogue, when we reflect that he 
and his parents were sent to Egypt to avoid the 
vengeance of Herod, under the peculiar charge of the 
wise men — who no doubt introduced his parents to the 
Priests and literati of that land of science, which made 

Q 



356 PREFACE. 

a Pythagoras — as the promised Messiah. This alone 
would occasion his parents being initiated into all the 
Egyptian mysteries which they could afterwards com- 
municate to his expanding Reason. No doubt this 
enabled the young Shiloh to compete with the learned 
Doctors of the Jewish Nation. From this epoch we 
may therefore date the commencement of Christ's 
ministry, when he began to unfold the Divine Mission 
with which he was charged by Omnipotence — that of 
teaching the most perfect "System of Morals" ever 
offered to man. By a strict observance of these Divine 
Commandments, we may hope to be conducted to 
the Throne of Grace, and rendered acceptable to our 
Maker. 

These sagacious reasoners, the Infidels, may well be 
surprised to find that they turn out to be the true 
supporters of Christianity ; nay, that they are in fact 
the only true Christians. — To believe in the Manhood of 
Christ is an essential part of Christianity, in which 
this sect eminently excel. — To depart from the Divine 
Doctrine of Christ is absolutely impossible for any 
rational creature — hence these reasoners confirm the 
words of the Saviour, in making him perfect Man and 
perfect God ! 



PREFACE. 357 

Not so the Bigot, who builds his System of Religion 
upon a "Dogma" — in fact, upon an absolute impossi- 
bility and papable absurdity — the real generator of 
Superstition^ disgraceful even to the savage. The Bigots 
assert that a Spirit which they call the iC Son of God" 
really walked the earth and talked like man, and that 
this Spirit was sometimes visible and sometimes not — 
as if a Spirit could inhabit the blue field of our Diagram, 
where matter alone can exist — a total impossibility ! 
This absurd prejudice may account for the terror felt 
by children and even adults in crossing a cemetery, 
lest the spirits of the departed should hold converse with 
them, and, if greatly excited^ they should commence 
some revelry, or tread the mazes of the sprightly dance. 

In these enlightened times we did not expect to find 
" Religion" — more properly Superstition — erected 
upon such a sandy foundation. To call this Christianity 
is quite a mistake ; for it contradicts the very spirit of 
the Gospels : sad failing of a most numerous and 
respectable class of human beings ! — What is very 
singular, so blinded are they by their own prejudices, 
that they consider themselves the only true believers 
and real supporters of Christianity — nay, they even 
brand all who differ from them with the opprobrious 

q2 



358 PREFACE. 

epithet of Infidel and Unbeliever. Centuries may 
elapse before this prejudice is rooted out from among 
the human race. Yet we ought not to be deterred from 
exposing the sophistry that founds this Dogma, more 
particularly as this exposure may tend to hasten its 
death. Sooner or later this prejudice must be eradi- 
cated, or Reason will prove to be a contradictory 
faculty, which deals in absurdities. But, to suppose 
such a case is to cast a censure on the Maker of Reason 
— as if perfection could err — an impossible thought ! 
"Practical Reason" is an emanation of the Divinity 
himself, and its commandments are absolutely binding 
for all moral beings. When Reason ceases to be 
Reason, then will the " Moral Law" cease to be com- 
manding. 

The Infidel, who is now become the true Believer 
and real Christian, has enumerated many acts of Christ, 
which actually prove his humanity to a demonstration. 
Among others he instances that act of Christ where it 
is said of him — " Jesus went into the Temple of God, 
and overthrew the tables of the money-changers." To 
suppose, say the Infidels, that a Spirit could move masses 
of matter, like these tables, would be to suppose an 
absurdity sufficient to invalidate the testimony of any 



PREFACE. 359 

" Book." On this ground they disbelieve the statement 
— unless we admit that Christ was perfect Man : then 
of course he could perform the act. They still further 
assert that they cannot excuse this conduct in a moral 
point of view. It is taking the law in his own hands. 
If this procedure was wrong and contrary to law 3 
Christ was not justified in acting as he did. He should 
have applied to the civil authorities to redress the evil. 
What a powerful proof does this procedure of the 
Saviour afford of the truth of his own assertion — 
"that he is perfect Man!" — However we may pal- 
liate this violence, by saying that it arose from the 
zeal he felt to fulfil his mission, still we must allow 
that it is the complete act of an enthusiast and proves 
humanity. 

We are compelled to admit the truth of the above 
statement ; but, as in the former instance, we are forced 
to turn the conclusion of the Infidels against themselves, 
and say — they attempt to invalidate the "Book" for 
that which is its great merit — proving the humanity 
of Christ. — Here again the Infidel becomes the true 
believer and genuine supporter of Christianity. 

The Bigots cannot accede to this reasoning, because 
it is death to their favourite Dogma — driving a material 



360 PREFACE. 

nail with a spiritual hammer — a position very difficult 
to be instilled into the minds of children in our en- 
lightened day. Yet they cling to their Dogma without 
due examination, and are positively rivetted to this 
absurd prejudice. It is sincerely to be regretted that 
so much worth and excellence should be so blinded 
and infatuated by what has descended to them from 
their forefathers as to want the moral courage to 
examine the foundation upon which their Dogma is 
constructed — namely, an absurdity too gross for com- 
mon sense. 

Full well do I know that this very " Divarication " 
will rouse the vengeance of the mighty rulers of the 
earth, both spiritual and temporal, because it overturns 
the long established prejudices of Bigotry which have 
too long denied the Temples of Religion, and clears 
the House of God of all false systems and ridiculous 
sects, which are contrary to the " Word of God." 
" For it is written that the House of the Lord shall be 
a House of Prayer, but ye have made it a den of 
thieves." 

Emboldened by the purity of my motive, which has 
long been canvassed in my mind, and ultimately ap- 
proved by that spirit of truth — Conscience — I shall 



PREFACE. 361 

fearlessly proceed in my pious labour of purifying all 
the Religions on earth, till, by refinement and the 
substitution of " Science " for Dogmas, they shall all 
prove to be reducible to ONE only true Religion — 
that revealed to us by our Redeemer. Did the Star 
Chamber yet exist, and Bigotry still hold supreme 
sway, we might expect to see Smithfield enlightened 
by the blaze of faggots, and priests cheered by the 
dying groans of a martyr. These terrors even would 
not deter me from attempting to purify the so-called 
" Religion of Christ," that the prophetic voice of its 
founder may be heard at the remotest corners of the 
world, proclaiming that " the Gospel shall be preached 
to all the nations of the earth." — Whatever may be 
my earthly sufferings, full well I know that my reward 
will be in heaven, while J. stand reconciled with my 
Maker, through his eternal spirit of truth, my own 
Conscience. 

During the progress of this chapter of the (i Divari- 
cation " I have been visited with a most severe indis- 
position — so much so, that I felt myself at the very 
threshold of Eternity, and, as it were, summoned to 
the awful presence to give an account of my earthly 
deeds. This was a most propitious moment to rouse 



362 PREFACE. 

my Conscience into a severe self-examination. The 
thought started into my mind — Is the work which I 
propose to publish a wicked undertaking, disturbing 
the slumbering prejudices accumulated by the lapse of 
Time, or a really honest and good work, calculated to 
induce self-examination and thorough enlightenment 
— thus to ameliorate the condition of the whole human 
race ! — Perhaps this burst of scientific light may 
be too much for the prejudices of Bigotry, Super- 
stition, and Ignorance. — But the truth will out! — 
Indeed the times are somewhat favourable for this 
enormous disclosure. — -Conscience — thou spirit of 
truth — answer these allegations. — "If thy Maker 
wills the destruction of thy labours, he will anni- 
hilate the atom that meditates the mischief. — If He 
permits thee still to exist, proceed with thy truly 
glorious undertaking, and brave the censure of man." — 
The appearance of the work is the full answer to the 
querist. 

The Infidel, still bent, as he thinks, on invalidating 
these four Gospels, persists in bringing all his forces to 
bear upon the case, and proceeds in selecting passages 
and expressions from "Holy Writ/' which, as he states, 
would disgrace Divinity — therefore, they must proceed 



PREFACE. 



363 



from Humanity. Thus, says he, it is decidedly im- 
moral to take the ass and foal unknown to the owner 
— evident humanity — not the conduct of the Son 
of God, but most certainly that of the Son of Man. 
Again, at the marriage at Cana, when Jesus said to his 
mother — "Woman, what have I to do with thee!" 
this irreverent language from an affectionate son to his 
fond mother, say the Infidels, is somewhat reprehensible, 
or the import of the words has undergone considerable 
change since they were applied to the mother of God. 
They insist that, in their present meaning, they imply 
evident humanity. When Jesus was called upon to give 
some sign of his Divinity, he evaded the question — the 
act of a man, not of a God. Jesus, when disputing 
with the Jews, says — " Now you seek to kill me, a 
man, that hath told you the truth, which I have heard 
of God." What ! say the Infidels, are we to doubt the 
statement of Christ, when he declares himself to be a 
man ! — This, say they, would be making the founder of 
the " only true Religion " the asserter of a falsehood ; 
consequently, his humanity is established from his own 
words. At the time of our Saviour's agony on the 
Cross, when he was about to give up the Ghost and 
commend his spirit to his Father, it is written that 

q5 



364 PREFACE. 

Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying — " Eli, Eli, 
lama sabachthani /" — which means — " My God ! my 
God ! why hast thou forsaken me \" On this excla- 
mation the Infidels lay great stress. It appears from 
this that God had forsaken his Son : hence there could 
not have been any stipulated contract between Jesus 
Christ and the Creator. To suppose that absolute 
perfection can break a contract is not only an absurdity 
but a total impossibility. But, on the other hand, to 
suppose that Jesus — a " Man" in the agonies of death — 
should appeal to his Maker for consolation is not only 
an evident mark of humanity, but a positive demon- 
stration that Christ while on earth was not a Divinity. 
It is perfectly needless and absolutely superfluous to 
multiply the instances collected by the Infidels to destroy 
the " Scriptures " altogether. We shall soon convince 
this class of reasoners that their most potent efforts at 
destruction afford the most powerful arguments for the 
establishment of the entire Christian Scheme. Had 
Christ been a Spirit, as the Bigot asserts, walking this 
earth, he could have offered no example to man. How 
could matter act like Spirit ! The Soul, when separated 
from the Body, is totally free from all carnal inclina- 
tions, having aspirations of a far higher nature — 



PREFACE. 365 

absolute perfection, which can alone reside in Eternity. 
How, then, can impure humanity, which consists of 
animated matter and is subjected to the vicissitudes of 
human life, which can exist only in Time, ever arrive 
at perfection ! — nay, perfection is foreign to its nature, 
till humanity becomes divinity. 

What, then, have these Infidels done? — Proved that 
which ought never to have been doubted — (e that Christ 
is perfect Man." Whoever deviates from this dictum 
can never be a true Christian,for he falsifies his Saviour's 
own statement of himself. Hence all who deny this 
Doctrine must found their opinion on a Dogma, that 
is, on some position assumed without due examination, 
which cannot fail to lead to Superstition, with all its 
train of horrors. The rational investigator of the 
" Scriptures " — though sometimes confounded with the 
Infidel — has done every thing for Christianity — 
because he has eradicated every mystery that disfigured 
the sublime Morality revealed for the salvation of the 
Soul by Jesus Christ. It is, therefore, now due to him 
to pronounce him the only true Christian. 

Fanaticism, fancying itself armed with the artillery 
of Heaven, must not be permitted to shake the Throne 
of Reason, whose base is immortal, and whose super- 



366 PREFACE. 

structure will be augmented in beauty and excellence 
as Knowledge advances and Bigotry becomes extinct. 
Bigotry deters many honest minds, through moral 
cowardice, from investigating the spirit of " Holy 
Writ/' and blindly attaches them to the letter. This 
fear has powerfully operated to prevent the activity of 
thought and the development of truth; so that the 
reveries of these deluded mortals become dreadfully 
alarming, and render the mind either foolish or feeble. 
By thus relaxing his powers, the individual gives way 
to fears, which it is the duty of cultivated Reason to 
destroy. These persons may gain confidence by reflect- 
ing on what we have so frequently enforced — that 
matter only can move matter, and spirit only can instruct 
spirit : so that nothing material can be held up as a 
pattern of imitation for the spiritual man. Even the 
worldly acts of the " Saviour,' ' as we have already 
seen, afford no universal rule of conduct for imitation. 
But his Morality does ! 

We trust we have now so completely accomplished our 
task as to leave nothing to posterity but to confirm the 
truth of our positions. Thus much we are sure of: — 
that, as prejudices moulder away, and new generations 
arise, if enlightenment keeps pace with the lapse of 



PREFACE. 367 

time, all the world will hail the day when religious 

controversy shall cease, sectarianism become extinct, 
and 

ONE UNIVERSAL RELIGION, 

consisting of the pure " Morality" taught by Christ, 

shall bless the earth with its benign influence. 

Then, indeed, may we say that the MAN Christ was 
the true Messiah who enlightened the world, and that, 
in his unjust and afflicting death, he atoned for the sins 
of the world, by redeeming us from ignorance and error, 
and leading us in the straight and direct path to the 
Throne of Mercy . — So that, by following the precepts 
of Christ, and walking with the law before us, we 
may render ourselves acceptable in the sight of the 
Lord, become partakers of that Kingdom prepared for 
us before all worlds, and thus attain after our mortal 
career to eternal and extatic bliss. 

<&\x tlje Jgtbme Jiature of Cfjrtet. 

" / am in my Father and my Father is in me," says 
the Saviour. "The Doctrtne I teach is not from 
myself, but from my Father who is in heaven — Qeug — 
I and my Father are ONE. I am the hoyo$, the word, 
or the discourse of Pure Reason, which ever con- 



368 PREFACE. 

stituted part of my Father, who is God." — Hence, 
while teaching his Doctrine, he says — "I am the 
6 Son of God/ begotten before all worlds, not made, 
being of the substance of the Father, who is a perfectly 
pure Spirit, or an infinite intelligence personified, yet 
distinct from my Father in having descended on earth, 
or in being incarnate, but always in communion with 
him through the Holy Spirit — avvs^g — or the con- 
nexion between us." — Hence arises the irrefutable 
Doctrine of the Trinity in Unity : thus, God the 
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. And 
yet there are not three Gods, but only ONE God, 
consisting of three persons, co-eternal and co-equal. 

God is a Spirit — the Soul is a spirit. But, as the 
Soul did not make itself, it must have had a Maker, 
who is God; and these spirits can only be in commu- 
nion through the medium of spirit. Now, as spirits 
cannot reside in the blue field of our Diagram — Time 
— which is wholly appropriated to matter, they must 
of necessity exist in the yellow rays of Eternity, the 
only abode of spirits. Therefore, the connexion between 
the Soul and its Maker must also be of a spiritual 
nature — in fact, Conscience, or the Holy Spirit of 
Truth, as developed by our Redeemer. Thus has 



PREFACE. 369 

Christ taught the Doctrine of the " Trinity in Unity," 
which must endure — like truth itself — as long as a 
human mind exists to contemplate its sublimity, or the 
Deity who originated the principle. Pure Reason 
confirms this statement, and no man can deny it and 
speak Truth ! 

To believe in the Doctrine of Christ is not only to 
adopt it but strictly and on all occasions to act up to 
the Moral Law constituted by our own Reason. This 
law commands that we should always act reasonably \ 
so that the motive which induces the action should be 
perfectly pure — as our Souls form no part of the phe- 
nomena of nature, but are at present inhabitants of the 
" Kingdom of God." Thus, following the precepts of 
Christ will render us acceptable in the sight of the Lord. 

Without the notion of a Trinity in Unity, it is 
absolutely impossible to form a correct idea of God. 
We have elsewhere stated that " infinite nothingness is 
a nonentity — consequently, God must be an infinite 
something, consisting of some infinite parts. Now, the 
least possible number of infinite parts that can be united 
is two ; but, unless these two are connected by a third, 
they cannot constitute an infinite something." With 
a view still further to obviate the charge of conciseness, 



370 PREFACE. 

we shall adduce the premises which have furnished this 
conclusion. 

The principle of Causality affords the solution of the 
whole difficulty, and defies refutation. The moment 
we allow that God is a Creator, the whole mystery is 
developed. A Creator who has not Created annuls 
himself, and, therefore, is inconceivable. He only can 
be a Creator who has effected a Creation, and con- 
sequently stands in Relation to it as the Author. — 
Thus the three members in the notion of Creator arise 
at once, or the notion is a mere nullity. This Doctrine 
is beautifully illustrated by our Saviour when he says — 
i( The Doctrine I teach is not from myself, but it is 
given me by my Father, who is in heaven." The word 
Father is the key to unlock the whole difficulty. Can 
he be a Father who never had a Child ! — Can he be a 
Son who never had a Father ! — Hence the Relationship 
between Father and Son forms the connecting link 
which completes the idea. Thus the Father is the 
Cause, the Son is the Effect, and their necessary 
connexion constitutes the Relation between them. As 
a principle residing in Eternity, each member of the 
"Triune Principle" may be contemplated separately ; 
but, the moment an actual separation takes place, the 



PREFACE. 371 

whole thought is destroyed — nay, then, we shall have 
destroyed the Creator, the Creation, and the Thinker, 
all at the same instant. 

Can there be an Effect without a Cause, or the 
converse ; or either of them without their Connexion to 
constitute ONE thought ! Now, as principles can 
exist only in Eternity, and things can be palpable 
only in Time, the principle of the Godhead — not 
being a thing — must of necessity be in Eternity, 
having all its members co-equal and co- eternal, neither 
confounding the persons nor dividing the substance. 
What we term things are in fact merely thoughts, 
produced by means of sensation from some external 
Cause — mental representations — which equally in- 
volve the Triune Principle. The difference between 
principles and things manifests itself thus — principles 
are simple and eternal, while the thoughts which we 
denominate things, being clothed with Time and Space, 
evince priority and are perishable. 

DIVINITY lasts for ever — HUMANITY is ever subject 
to decay. 

What power is that in man which enables him to 
appreciate the divine Doctrine taught by our Saviour? 
It certainly must be some power that distinguishes man 



372 PREFACE. 

from all the other animals on earth, or we should have 
the Elephant and the Ass disputing the palm with us 
on points of Theology — convincing proof that this 
power forms no part of nature, or it would be accorded 
to all the other animals — which it is not. Then it 
must be a heaven-born power ! So indeed it is ; for it 
is an emanation of Divinity. This divine power is 
" Practical Reason." It is this power that elevates 
man above all created nature, and makes half our nature 
divine, 

Thus constituting man the " SCOPE OF CREATION." 

Now we perceive in what the Divinity of Christ 
consists — not in his being perfect man, but in pos- 
sessing a " Practical Reason " superior to all other 
Reasons that were ever before witnessed on earth. So 
that when he is unfolding his Doctrine, which con- 
sists of the laws of God, as laid in man's own Reason, 
then only is he Divine, that is, Perfect God. 

Thus CHRIST identifies himself with his DOCTRINE. 

Christ's body consisted of matter, like that of other 
men : his soul, or sjnrit, which is his " Practical 
Reason," while developing its own laws, with the 
"Moral Law" at their head, was never equalled 



PREFACE. 373 

on earth. Hence his Divinity shone forth in his 
"Morality/- and all his precepts are GOD'S COM- 
MANDMENTS. Thus he is the only begotten " Son 
of God/'' destined to save the world from sin and 
wickedness. 

Much stress has been laid on the total impossibility 
of explaining the miraculous conception of the Son of 
Man. A very little reflection, however, will render 
the philosophy of this supposed miracle as self-evident 
and as thoroughly intelligible as the arguments we have 
adduced to extricate the " TRINITY IN UNITY " 
from the charge of absurdity. — As those arguments are 
absolutely irrefutable, so, in this case, we hope to treat 
the matter in such a way, that no human being can 
dissent from its truth. Thus, then, it is : — the infant 
Jesus, like all other children that are composed of 
matter, must have been generated in the only way that 
matter can operate — generated wholly and entirely by 
the motion of the different particles of matter. The 
natural exposition of the growth of the infant Christ 
is well attested throughout his History. Our utter 
ignorance of the generating cause of any foetus has 
given rise to the mystical and typical explanations that 
are objected to by those who wish to obtain complete 



374 PREFACE. 

satisfaction for Reason; and the want of enlighten- 
ment on the principle of the " Divarication " has led 
many to endeavour to support a mystery instead of 
attempting to give an explanation. 

The doubt as to the u Holy Scriptures " being the 
work of inspired writers is now scientifically solved on 
the above principle, and placed beyond all possible 
cavil. Let each doubting individual only appeal to his 
own " Pure Reason/' and cheering certainty will dispel 
desponding doubt. — What ! doubt whether Reason is 
an emanation from the Deity ! Really this is doubting 
whether Spirit is Spirit, and matter is matter. — Hence 
the inspiration is complete ! u This is the true light 
which enlightens every man that cometh into the 
world." All the precepts of Jesus are, then, divine in- 
spiration, and are confirmed to absolute CONVICTION 
by that spirit of truth, the u Holy Ghost " — Con- 
science. 

Would an Eternal, Omniscient, and Omnipotent, 
Being leave any individual without the fullest assurance 
of the Divine Inspiration of the Precepts of Jesus ! — 
The touchstone to try the truth of this inspiration 
God, in his infinite mercy, has placed in the bosom of 
all those of his creatures whom he has dignified with 



PREFACE. 375 

the divine faculty — to distinguish right from wrong — 
" Practical Reason." Is there a Christian, a Jew, 
a Turk, or an Infidel, who will not with a loud voice 
proclaim the goodness of God, in endowing man with 
the never sufficiently to be adored faculty, Practical 
Reason — a faculty which enables us to distinguish 
and for ever separate the true " Word of God'" from 
the equivocal and doubtful " Word of Man." 

Those who act up to the divine laws revealed to 
man by Jesus Christ must feel assured that they are 
acceptable to their Maker. This assurance originates 
in and is confirmed by the " Holy Ghost," that Spi?*it 
of Truth, which Christ says shall dwell with you for 
ever — Conscience. A man without a Conscience is 
not a man. Hence necessarily arises the Holy Trinity 
— God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy 
Ghost. 

Now, indeed, is every mystery eradicated from the 
Doctrine taught by our Saviour, and every part of his 
sublime Morality not only fully developed but strictly 
confirmed by Reason. Christ says : — " I am the 
resurrection and the life, and whoever believes in me — 
that is, in my Doctrine — shall never die, but inherit 
everlasting life." " I am the way, the truth, and the 



376 PREFACE. 

life, and no one can enter the kingdom of God but 
through me — that is, through my Doctrine." "I 
am in my Father, and he is in me " — that is, my pure 
spirit or Soul forms no part of the material world, but 
at present is a member of the pure, moral, or spiritual 
region, where my Father reigns. I am come down 
upon earth to awaken your Consciences to the truth of 
my Doctrine. The Doctrine I teach is the door to 
salvation. This Doctrine comes from God, and its 
truth is manifested in man's own Conscience, Who- 
ever understands this Doctrine must be convinced of 
its divine origin. The Doctrine I teach comes directly 
from heaven. Christ, feeling the force of his own 
Doctrine, says: — " I have overcome the world/' 
In Christ, therefore, we have a practical example of 
the possibility of acting up to the moral law on all 
occasions. Thus did Christ rise superior to all the 
seductions of inclination, leaving for the instruction 
of mankind an example and model "which may be 
equalled but never can be excelled." 

CHRIST, then, may well say— " I have overcome the world ! " 

All that the advancement in knowledge and the 
expansion of mind have been or ever will be able 



PREFACE. 377 

to effect is to confirm the truth of the DIVINE 
REVELATION, which this only begotten " Son of 
God" was destined to unfold to mankind. Though 
we now possess a perfect " Science of Mind/' capable 
of detecting and refuting all the sophistry of the 
ancients, this Science even lends its powerful aid in 
support of Christianity, and, by its complete analysis 
of the faculty of " Reason," proves to absolute Con- 
viction not only that the Religion of Christ is true, 
but that it is absolutely impossible that it can ever be 
superseded by any other — because it is the only true 
One. The chosen people of God may, therefore, look in 
vain for another Messiah — the work being complete and 
final. All that can ever be done to promote the propa- 
gation of this heaven-born " Religion" is the labour we 
have undertaken in the present "DIVARICATION," 
of separating the precepts from the facts — the Doc- 
trine from the History. This scientific and simple 
operation will prevent the possibility of any individual 
of any persuasion — whether Jew or Hindoo, Mahomedan 
or Pagan — dissenting from the " Divine Revelation " 
given to man by Jesus Christ. 

It is now incumbent on us to show how this perfect 
" Science of Mind " proves the truth of the " Sacred 



378 PREFACE. 

Volume." Man arrives at the knowledge of the Moral 
Law only through the consciousness of the operations 
of his own Reason. Irrational animals can neither be 
moral nor immoral : deprive man of his Reason and 
you annul his accountability. Though lying may be 
attempted to be defended, on account of the general 
torrent of moral corruption, yet no one can seriously 
recommend it, as a universal law of conduct; for 
Practical Reason tells us with a loud voice that we 
ought not to lie, upon any pretence whatever. Hence 
the commandment — " Thou shalt not lie" — is not 
valid for man alone, but for all rational Beings. " Oh, 
Righteous Father ! " says our Saviour, " the world hath 
not known thee until I preached thy ivord unto them. 
I will continue until my death to declare thy pure 
spiritual Doctrine to them. So that they may love 
me, as I love thee, and that they may be in me, as I am 
in thee." 

It is a positive fact that pure Reason is Practical, 
because it either urges us to or restrains us from action. 
Hence we are free — : a convincing proof that Practical 
Reason forms no part of nature. Choice evinces 
Freedom — nature conforms to strict necessity. Tell 
the waters to run upwards ! — or the planets to quit 



PREFACE. 379 

their course ! Practical Reason commands us always 
to be reasonable. To be reasonable is to be good. 
Morality likewise commands us always to be good. 
Therefore, the laws of Reason and the laivs of Morals 
are the same. The fundamental law of Reason is the 
foundation of Morals, and constitutes the Jirst principle 
of that " Science," under the name of the " Moral 
Law." Whoever, therefore, acknowledges that he is 
endowed with Reason is at the same time conscious of 
the Moral Laiv, and is bound to obey its dictates or 
renounce his Reason. 

MORALITY is independence of Nature. 

This independence is Liberty in a negative sense ; 
but the self-legislation of Practical Reason is Liberty 
hi a positive sense : for it constitutes the whole code of 
" Moral Laws." Reason, then, commands us to pro- 
mote the happiness of other rational beings, whether 
we sympathize with them or not. 

The Moral Law is, therefore, valid for every rational 
being — nay, not excepting the highest intelligence — 
God himself. With regard to human beings, who are 
subject to wants, it assumes the form of a Command- 
ment. The Sacred Being, who finds no impediments 

R 



380 PREFACE. 

to his own laiv, necessarily conforms to the Moral 
Law. Hence 

The MORAL LAW is the law of GOD ! 

The "Autonomy of the Will" is the sole principle 
of the Moral Law, and of the duties which arise from 
it. The "Heteronomy of the Will" opposes the 
principles of Morality altogether. It is this very 
Autonomy of the Will that constitutes us members 
of the eternal " Kingdom of God/' even while we are 
destined, for the wisest purposes, to tarry in this vale 
of tears. " All who adopt my Doctrine," says the 
Saviour, (C being actuated by the same spirit of truth, 
will form one ( Kingdom of Spirits,' who acknowledge 
no other law than the pure Moral Law ; and all, being- 
united by the same spiritual bond, may be said to have 
the same Doctrine in them — the Word of God — 
and as such to belong to God." — Thus arises the 
glorious victory of Reason over Sense — or the total 
destruction of vice, by the complete triumph of virtue. 
Reason has now undergone a complete and full inves- 
tigation ; the knowledge of this fact may enable future 
generations to escape from the mass of confusion and 
error that perplexed their predecessors. Reason must, 



PREFACE, 381 

therefore, display its own laws in so clear a manner 
that no reasonable creature can dissent from them. 
False art and vain wisdom last their time — at length 
they destroy themselves. That this period is arrived 
with regard to perverted Christianity is most certain : 
for, with a view to improve that which was revealed 
by the Saviour in its utmost simplicity, and which is 
incapable of improvement, Christians have split into 
innumerable and discordant sects, which necessarily 
tend to the destruction of this false Christianity. We 
acknowledge that there may be a dull and dreary 
period to pass over before the regeneration of pure 
primitive Christianity takes place. Sooner or later, 
however, Reason will establish its claim to be heard. 
So powerful is this claim, and so unlikely to be re- 
linquished, that we might as soon expect man to give 
up breathing altogether, lest he should inhale impure 
air, as to expect him to desist from this rational investi- 
gation. 

It is essential that all mankind should concur as to 
the meaning of that important communication of God 
to man — a "Divine Revelation." In the first 
place, this communication must consist of nothing 
human, or it would annul itself. Yet we must be more 



382 PREFACE. 

convinced of its truth and existence than we are of any 
phenomenon of Nature, or we may substitute a Dogma 
for truth. How then shall we establish the existence 
of such a spiritual communication which can never 
strike Sense ! 

Can that be human which cannot be constructed by 
the hand of man, and yet exists ? — Certainly not. 
Then it must be Divine. That all the pure Sciences 
exist, we need only appeal to the learned. None of 
these could ever be constructed by the hand of man, 
and yet they exist ; consequently, they must be con- 
structed by the mind of man. The hand of man consists 
of matter, and affects "Sense." The mind of man 
consists of spirit, and is "Reason." Having already 
proved that Reason is an emanation of the Deity, we 
need not again repeat that it must be Divine. Therefore, 
all that results from, pure Practical Reason, which 
refers only to spiritual objects, must of necessity be 
" Divine." 

Let us now instance a Science, whose nature must 
be divine, because it cannot be constructed by the hand 
of man. Geometry is such a Science, whose truth is 
felt by the commonest mechanic. Show us the man 
who can make a mathematical line evident to Sense. 



PREFACE. 383 

He is not yet born — nor ever will be. Then show us 
the man who dare deny the existence of a mathematical 
line ! As this is not the production of the hand of 
man, nor evident to "Sense/' it follows that it must be 
the production of the mind of man, and constructed by 
" Reason." Sense is affected by some extraneous cause 
that produces sensation, which is usually denominated 
matter. Reason originates its own laws, which are 
principles; that is, pure spiritual essences. Thus we 
have proved that 

REASON originates SYLLOGISM, 
SENSE produces SENSATION. 

This important distinction in the results of these two 
original faculties of man may be further illustrated by 
the following table, where we shall display Reason in. 
its twofold application : 
practical reason 

relates to the 

SOUL, 



SPIRIT, 



whose law is 
SYLLOGISM. 



SPECULATIVE REASON 

relates to the 

BODY, 






MATTER, 

1 






whose law is 
TIME and SPACE. 





Since we have shown that Geometry is a " Divine 
Revelation," though strictly confined in its use to 



384 PREFACE. 

matter, it now devolves on us to show that a far 
purer Science still exists, which is totally independent 
of matter — regards our Eternal Welfare alone, and 
refers only to spirit. This Science is the " Religion " 
revealed to us by Jesus Christ, and whose nature 
cannot fail to be u Divine" because such a " Science" 
cannot be made by the hand of man. 

Now, indeed, we have redeemed our pledge of proving 
that the " Revelation" contained in the " New Testa- 
ment" is divine ; and whenever its Author is employed 
in unfolding its divine precepts, and in so doing he 
identifies himself with his Doctrine, then only is he 
divine. u All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
and is profitable for doctrine^ for reproof, for correction, 
for instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God 
may be perfect, and wise unto salvation through faith 
in Jesus Christ." So then 

The DIVINITY of CHRIST is proved. 

Jesus Christ preached the "Kingdom of God" in 
all its purity and sublimity. None before him had 
shown the relation of Man to God in so clear a light. 
None before him had shown the relation of the human 
race to ETERNITY. None before him had developed 
the laws which man ought to follow, in order to render 



PREFACE. 385 

himself acceptable in the sight of his Maker. None 
before him had shown that Reason, which is thespiritual 
part of man, was an emanation from the Deity, and that 
it could reside only in Eternity. 

All the conjectures of the learned, prior to this 
"Divine Revelation/' were confused notions, con- 
fined to the Schools, and only to be approached with 
deep meditation and long study ; while the precepts of 
Jesus were not only preached to the illiterate, but were 
so clearly comprehended by them that they knew more 
of the " Word of God " than the most learned, who 
had to contend with long established prejudice and 
subtile refinement. So that in truth "his word was 
power " — and thus did Jesus communicate to man all 
that is Divine. Thus, then, has the voice of Jesus 
awakened us from the dead, and called our spirits to 
everlasting life : — " The pure in heart alone are blessed, 
for they shall see God." God is everlasting love. "As 
God loves us, so ought we to love him." Hence the 
Commandment — "Love God with all your heart, and 
your neighbour as yourself." This is Practical Love, and 
acting according to the laws of " Practical Reason," 
merely out of pure love for the " Moral Law," and 
in this alone consists the purity of the motive. Hence 



386 PREFACE. 

Jesus gave this new commandment to his disciples :— 
"Love one another as I have loved you ; by this shall 
all men know that ye are my disciples. If you love 
me ; keep my commandments." 

" God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 
son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son 
into the world to condemn the world, but that the 
world through him might be saved. He that believeth 
in him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is 
condemned already, because he has not believed in the 
Doctrine of the only-begotten Son of God. And this 
is the condemnation — that light is come into the 
worlds and men love darkness rather than light, be- 
cause their deeds are evil, and they avoid the light 
lest they should be reproved. But he that doeth truth 
cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made mani- 
fest that they are wrought in God." 

All that relates to our "Eternal Welfare" — 
which concerns the Soul alone — is unfolded by the 
" Saviour of Man" in so plain a manner that the mul- 
titude could not only appreciate his Doctrine, but 
conduct themselves according to the precepts of the 
Divine Revelation. — Nay, all the pure 3 spiritual 



PREFACE. 387 

COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, as taught by Jesus, 
are not only conformable to Reason, but actually prove 
to be a complete, perfect, and pure " Science," lying 
in the Reason of Man ! To doubt this truth would be to 
renounce our Reason and wander in the path of vice, 
or, in the language of Scripture, " to become estranged 
from God and devoted to the Devil" — thus reversing 
the order of the primitive Faculties of the " Human 
Mind " by making Reason the servant of Sense. 

What Christ taught to the multitude in a popular 
form to suit the capacity of his hearers— when stripped 
of the parables and sensible images which the " Son 
of Man" judiciously employed to facilitate his object 
— is a pure and strict u Science " — a Science of 
the highest importance to man — a Science that gives 
laws for the salvation of the soul, and the assurance 
of a blissful hereafter. This Science may well be 
called byway of eminence the u Science of Religion " 
— is susceptible of the most absolute proof, and capable 
of producing the most perfect Conviction ; far sur- 
passing in purity all the sciences put together — because 
this science is wholly Spiritual — while the inferior 
sciences, such as Mensuration, Astronomy, &c, are 
only of use when applied to matter. It is a well known 

R 5 



388 PREFACE. 

fact that all applied sciences are incapable of strict 
scientific proof, and are mere approximations to purity. 

The SCIENCE OF RELIGION is the SCIENCE OF SPIRIT. 

The purity and divinity of this "Science" can no 
more be doubted than that God himself is Divine. 
The essence of this Science is the communion of the 
Soul with its Maker, and is founded in that pure, primi- 
tive, and pre-eminent, faculty of Man — " Practical 
Reason" — which is a spiritual emanation from the 
Deity, Let us, then, take the Doctrine of the ec Son 
of God" as a guide for our conduct; and for the 
purpose of strengthening holier dispositions in our 
soul, that we may subdue the undue influence of Sense, 
and render the " Moral Law," which springs from 
Reason, all-powerful in our hearts ! Then shall we 
feel the CONVICTION that we really have obtained 
a Victory worthy of the good fight — the victory of 
virtue over vice, which is in truth a regeneration unto 
righteousness. Science demonstrates this victory by the 
complete establishment of the Supremacy of Reason 
over the impure inclinations of Sense, and by a pious 
determination to submit all our desires to the test of 
" the Moral Law" before we allow ourselves the indul- 



PREFACE. 389 

gence of them. Thus does the " Science of Religion/' 
by animating the virtuous, increase their virtue, and 
strengthen in them the hope of attaining the great end 
for which man is created : — 

Perfect bliss in the world to come. 

The more cultivation of intellect advances the greater 
will be the agreement among mankind on religious 
truths. The time will come when all religious sects 
shall be extinguished, and ONE only faith shall prevail 
— that revealed by Jesus Christ. This time is pre- 
dicted in the u Sacred Volume " under the allegory : •— 
41 There shall be but one shepherd and one fold — 
Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but the Doctrine 
of Christ shall remain for ever." It was Christ who 
first developed the Divinity of the Godhead ; which the 
" Science of Mind " has confirmed in such a way as 
to defy refutation and to dispel all doubt. 

The demands of the Infidel are by no means either 
frivolous or irrational. On the contrary, they merit a 
full and complete answer, or we never can expect these 
acute investigators of " Holy Writ " to change their 
opinion on the subject of Religion. The Preface to 
this " Divarication," we venture to assert, will not 



390 PREFACE. 

only satisfy every scruple, but at the same time show 
that this reflective and numerous sect lost their way by 
confounding the "Word of Man" with the "Word of 
God." The latter only is susceptible of scientific proof; 
and the least particle of the former, being intermixed 
in the investigation, absolutely prevents unanimity of 
sentiment. The whole demand may be considered 
summed up in the following passage: " In a Religion," 
say the Infidels, u which hath God for its Author, 
happiness for its end, and truth without any admixture 
of error for its matter, we have a right to expect 
internal evidences of its divinity, and a character as 
infinitely superior to any devices of men as infinite 
wisdom must be superior to human ignorance." 

Hence it is evident that all the Infidel requires is, 
that the Religion which claims the high epithet of 
Divine should contain that complete internal evidence 
which its pure character indicates. The moment the 
Doctrine in the New Testament is separated from the 
mass of disputable History in the same " Sacred 
Volume," the precepts of Jesus shine forth with their 
own native lustre, and compel Conviction from every 
rational creature. So that we do not ask the Infidel to 
acquiesce in the truth of the Christian Doctrine j but 



PREFACE. 391 

we deny him the right use of his Reason if he with- 
holds his assent — ■ and declare him mad ! 

The Bigot, on the other hand, who mistakes the 
letter for the spirit of the " Holy Book/' is arrogant 
enough to take upon himself the Divine Nature, and 
dictate a line of conduct to his fellow-men. Oh ! 
unpardonable presumption ! — as if actions in Time 
were undeviating symbols of motives in Eternity ! 

No religious action can be performed on earth, 

OR 

the TYPE would become the ESSENCE. 

Then religion would not be as taught by our " Saviour " 
— only in the heart — that is, in the motive. Oh ! ye 
children of error ! — ye ought to be well aware that ye 
yourselves are in the right road to salvation before ye 
venture to dictate to others, and point out to them the 
only true way. Let this admonition, at least, teach 
you humility, and rather induce you to investigate 
and prove to conviction the correctness of your own 
proceedings, before you assume the likeness of the 
Divine Teacher, only to lead men into error : " For 
there shall be many false Christs, but do not believe 
them." — What says Christ of the woman taken in 
adultery? — "Let him who is without sin cast the first 



392 PREFACE. 

stone."— -Ye are prone to condemn others for taking 
the name of the Lord in vain — when, in truth, ye, in 
your own vanity, are guilty of the crime. Ye brand 
an accidental exclamation, having no malevolence in 
the motive, with the guilt of crime, while ye arrogantly 
assume the character of the " Messiah," and through 
your own ignorance teach men wrong. 

Now that Religion is established as a i( Science," no 
undue influence can be exerted to force the Doctrine 
of Christ upon man. Beginning with self-evident 
principles — Axioms — then proceeding with accurate 
Definitions of every term employed in the " Sacred 
Science," nothing can be taught that can either be 
doubted or disputed, consequently, nothing that we are 
in danger of ever having to unlearn — no prejudice 
substituted for principle. On the contrary, every step 
will command Conviction, or it will not be taken, 
otherwise, Science and Prejudice would be synonymous 
terms. All, therefore, that we have to do is to instil 
this " Sacred Science " into the infant mind, instead 
of arrogantly taking upon ourselves the pious office of 
correcting our fellow-men — a task which each must 
perform for himself in spiritual things, as we cannot 
dive into motives with a view to the salvation of the 



PREFACE. 393 

soul. This " Science " will evolve all the precepts of 
Jesus from their native source, Reason, and prove 
them to be of divine origin — thus enabling us to 
purify the motives of our actions as the only true 
preparative for rendering ourselves acceptable in the 
sight of the Lord. 

In science nothing is trusted to Belief, which is 
merely the measure of ignorance ; but every principle 
is stamped with the unerring mark of Conviction. 
Instead, therefore, of tasking the youthful memory of 
the aspirant with Beliefs, Catechisms, and Formularies, 
we induce the exercise of his judgment by expanding 
his Reason, and showing the source whence spring all 
the divine precepts revealed to us by Jesus Christ. This 
is, indeed, treading the safe and sure path of Science. 
All that man can do for man is to convince him of the 
truth, universality, and divinity, of the " Science of 
Religion." It must then be left to himself to act 
according to these holy principles, in which consists 
virtue — or designedly to act in opposition to these 
sacred commandments, which constitutes vice. — No 
direct line of conduct can be marked out for man, for 
actions only refer to our station here. As Religion, 
then, consists merely in the purity of the motive, how 



394 PREFACE. 

dare man presume to judge his fellow-man ! All that 
we have to do is to teach the " Sacred Science ; " for it 
is totally out of our power to force its adoption. One 
man may lead a horse to water, but twenty cannot 
make him drink. This mode of procedure is the 
complete perversion of the first law of Reason, 

PRACTICAL REASON 

commands us to effect " our own PERFECTION 

and the HAPPINESS of others." 

Iii all Religions or Superstitions — whether Jewish, 
Pagan, Hindoo, Mahomedan, or the Idolatry of the 
savage — we discover an evident attempt to erect a 
code of morals, similar to the " Divine Morality " 
revealed to us by Jesus Christ — sufficient evidence 
that all Religions tend to make men better in this 
world, and to prepare them for a happy hereafter. 
This is, indeed, a powerful proof that, as enlighten- 
ment advances, all these Superstitions will melt into 
the only true "Religion." — Thus, then, will the 
Scripture Prophecy be fulfilled, that " the Gospel shall 
be preached to all the nations of the earth ! " 

When " Superstition," that bane of society and 
destroyer of the world's comfort — which often treats 
the most trivial actions as heinous crimes, and sanctions 



PREFACE. 395 

with a holy zeal the most atrocious deeds —when this 
blind ignorance of the vital essence of true Christianity 
and vile parent of degrading hypocrisy shall be banished 
from the face of the earth, then, indeed, may we look 
forward with confidence to the absolute annihilation of 
Bigotry and the total destruction of Infidelity. The 
Bigot may well, then, by self-examination, perceive 
his error, and return in the honesty of his soul to pure 
primitive Christianity; and the Infidel will also find 
that repose for his soul, of which unsuccessful search 
and perplexed investigation into the sacred texts had 
deprived him — and all for want of a little " Science," 
which is here amply supplied. These two formidable 
sects — manifesting the utmost rancour towards each 
other's opinions — comprise nearly the whole class of 
modern Christians. To their utmost astonishment, 
then, will they find that, when the one relinquishes 
his inveterate prejudices and the other adds a little 
Science to his inquiry, they will be both united in ONE 
only permanent sentiment — that of Christianity, in all 
its primitive purity. For 

CHRISTIANITY is RATIONALITY. 

So divinely does St. Paul expound the Doctrine of 
Christ, that the immense lapse of time, and all the 



396 PREFACE. 

enlightenment and expansion of mind that havegradually 
grown up through a series of ages, are totally incapable 
of adding one tittle to the conviction of its truth : — "I 
say, then, walk ,in the Spirit — that is,- according to 
c Reason ' — and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the Flesh 
— that is, gratify the irregular desires of ' Sense.' For 
the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against 
the flesh ; and these are contrary the one to the other \ 
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But, 
if ye be led by the Spirit — that is, Reason — ye are 
not under the law. Now the works of the Flesh — 
that is, Sense — are manifest, which are these : — adul- 
tery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, 
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, 
seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, 
revilings, and such like : of the which I tell you before, 
as I have also told you in time past, that they who do 
such things shall not inherit the ( Kingdom of God/ 
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long- 
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem- 
perance : against such there is no law. And they that 
are Christ's have crucified the Flesh, with the affections 
and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in 
the Spirit." — In modern language we should say : — 



PREFACE. 397 

If we live according to the great law of Reason — the 
"Moral Law" — we subdue the unlawful desires of 
Sense — our conduct is approved by the sp>irit of truth 

— Conscience — - and in this manner we not only 
render ourselves acceptable in the sight of the Lord, 
but we evince the 

Supremacy of REASON over SENSE. 

This exposition need only be read to be approved, 
and adopted as a principle to guide our conduct in this 
world, and prepare us for the next. All that " Science " 
is capable of adding to this beautiful display of the 
precepts of the Gospel is the source in the " Human 
Mind/' whence originate these fundamental laws: 
beyond this every effort to make truth more true must 
be quite powerless. It really seems almost superfluous 
to say that the Apostle Paul meant to designate under 
the term Flesh the inclinations and desires of " Sense" 

— that seducer from our duties ; and under the word 
Spirit, the law of morals ■, with which man is endowed, 
to suppress the appeals of inclination when they over- 
step the bounds of propriety, which law is founded 
in " Reason." Annul Reason, and the " Moral Law " 
becomes extinct. How, then, can it either be appre- 
ciated or acted upon ! Annul Sense — in what can 



398 PREFACE. 

the inclinations reside ! How, then, can we indulge in 
the sinful gratification of that which does not exist ! — 
Flesh and " Sense/' being both properties of matter, 
may be considered as synonymous j while Spirit and 
" Reason," being both immaterial essences, must of 
necessity be spiritual, and may on this account be con- 
sidered synonymous. Thus, then, has modern Science 
furnished a clue by which the " Sacred Volume " shall 
indeed be viewed as a " Holy Book," merely by 
giving a touchstone for the purpose of determining, in 
all occurring cases, whether the text under investigation 
is wholly or partially "Doctrinal," and what part is 
most certainly merely " Historical." This touchstone 
is the pure, complete, and perfect, 

PHILOSOPHY Of MIND. 

In order, therefore, scientifically to appreciate the 
sublime Doctrine of Christ, when entirely separated 
from all the facts of History, no other mode of pro- 
cedure can be adopted, but first of all to master this 
perfect " SCIENCE OF MIND." For not undertaking 
this previous labour no possible excuse can be admitted; 
and, when it is successfully accomplished, there will be 
the same unformity of sentiment among the pupils of 



PREFACE. 399 

the " Sacred Science " as at present exists in the 
study of " Euclid's Elements of Geometry." Sectari- 
anism must then hide its diminished head, and true 
" Religion " will be One, and universal all over the 
world ! The circle of the Sciences will be for ever 
closed as far as regards the " Science of Religion/' 
which will find itself installed among the pure Sciences 
— with this difference, indeed, that it not only eclipses 
them all in Spirituality, but that it is the very head 
and front of all the pure Sciences — being the first law 
of "Reason." A critical examination into the operations 
and powers of Reason will then furnish the fundar 
mental principles that will constitute the " Horn-book" 
of that Science, which will ultimately produce perfect 
unanimity of sentiment among all rational beings, and 
unite them in ONE eternal bond of union, on all points 
of Theology and Religion, in so permanent a manner 
that no time can change but all time must confirm 
to that high degree of excellence and purity which the 
perfect Doctrine of Christ demands. This " Science" 
— which is complete in all its parts — perfect in all its 
principles — that even defy either augmentation or 
diminution, but must for ever remain permanently 
fixed in their present number — consisting of the three 



400 PREFACE. 

primitive faculties, Sense, Understanding, Reason— 
with their specific elements — 2 Receptivities, TIME 
and SPACE, 12 Categories of Understanding, 6 Ideas 
of Reason — making in all TWENTY ELEMENTS* 
— is called 

TRANSCENDENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 

Thus ends our protracted and explanatory Preface, 
in which we promised to atone for the fault of con- 
ciseness, with which we were so justly charged in our 
first edition. Here, indeed, we have supplied the 
premises which furnished that string of conclusions 
that constitutes the "Introduction" to the former 
work. We sincerely hope that this desideratum is so 
effectually accomplished, that the individual is not to 
be found who can say that we have entirely missed our 
aim in the glorious undertaking of Divaricating the 
" Holy Scriptures " — thus separating for ever those 
pure precepts — which alone constitute the "Word of 
God," and are rules to guide our conduct here below, 

* This " SCIENCE OF MIND " is formally displayed in a work 
which I published about ten years ago, entitled "Principles of Tran- 
scendental Philosophy," and which has been dignified by the epithet 
of the "British Euclid," from its close reasoning 1 and strictly logical 
deductions. I have just put forth a Second Edition in English and 
German. 



PREFACE. 401 

and principles to secure the salvation of the soul in the 
" Kingdom to Come" — from all doubtful and equivocal 
History, which must be called the " Word of Man : '• 
being a record of facts and traditions that have glided 
down the stream of time from the remotest periods ; 
and which furnish neither rules for mundane affairs 
nor principles for spiritual regeneration. Too often, 
indeed, is the page of History tarnished in recording 
the cruel acts of despots, sullied by the vile designs of 
the wicked, and stained with the blood and gore of 
the honest, upright, and virtuous — who have become 
martyrs to the truth. God forbid that such recitals 
should be considered as patterns for imitation, or that 
such horrid atrocities should any longer be resorted 
to for settling scientific questions and differences of 
opinion ! 

Now, because similar recitals disfigure the " Holy 
Book," mistaken man imagines them to be the " Word 
of God," when the slightest reflection will prove them 
to be narratives of the wicked designs of the cruel and 
ambitious — literally, the mere "Word of Man." 
Herod, the tetrarch, put John the Baptist in prison, 
because he freely gave his opinion on the subject of his 
marrying Herodias, his brother's wife; indeed, he would 



402 PREFACE. 

have put him to death, but he feared the vengeance of the 
multitude — who considered John a prophet. When the 
daughter of Herodias fascinated Herod with her graceful 
and beautiful dancing, in the extacy of the moment he 
made a vow to present her with whatever she asked. 
Her designing mother, in order to satiate her revenge 
for John's opinion, instructed the daughter what to ask 
for : — " Give me John Baptist's head in a charger." 
— This recital occurs in the " Holy Book," but it 
surely is never intended to mark out a line of conduct 
for imitation, but most certainly conduct to be ab- 
horred and avoided for its atrocious cruelty. Can any 
thing be more human, nay, even disgraceful to humanity, 
than conduct such as this ! — This the " Word of 
God!" — God forbid that humanity should be con- 
strained to obey commandments such as these ! — 
Lamentable, indeed, is it to find such conduct recorded 
in the " Holy Book." When this account of vice and 
folly is transferred to the historic page — the true record 
of human actions — we perceive clearly that it is the 
mere "Word of Man." 

If we have really been successful in the execution of 
our task, the following momentous results — which 
constitute the vital essence of the Christian Religion — 



PREFACE. 403 

not only compelling the conviction of every rational 
creature, but assuring him of their ever-during truth — 

THE 

DIVINITY OP CHRIST, 

THE 

Rationality of the Athanasian Creed, 

AND THE 

TRUTH OF THE HOLY TRINITY, 

ARE 

Established for ever on the solid basis of REASON. 

We now trust that we have so fully argued our case, 
and so firmly established our " Mental Theory,"' that 
the most fastidious Critic will be compelled to acknow- 
ledge that there is not a single sentence vainly introduced 
merely for the object of display — none most certainly 
to deceive — though we have often been regaled by 
minor critics with expressions like these : — " This 
work is intended to mislead the unwary under the garb 
of Christianity, which it in fact undermines." — " We 
doubt the honesty of the author's motive." — Of that 
let God be the judge ! — " This work must destroy 
Christianity altogether." — The very contrary is its 
intent ! — "It is a blasphemous book, and the author 
writes with a wicked intention." — To this charge I 
plead Not Guilty, and throw myself on God and my 
Country ! — In my own conscience I stand acquitted ! 

s 



404 PREFACE. 

— We suppose these learned critics have either not 
taken the pains or possessed the ability to comprehend 
the principle of the work, which is fully to prove 
that 

RATIONALITY is CHRISTIANITY; 

consequently, by establishing the one we prove the 
other. — Need more be done for u Primitive Christi- 
anity ! " Critics, we fear, are sometimes employed 
merely to be bookmakers — to write to live, not for 
truth alone. When, however, truth only forms the 
foundation of the work, castigation is mere waste of 
time — much better would it suit the purpose of the 
author to seek an interview, and discuss the disputed 
principle ; for it has already been too often reiterated 
that a disputed principle is a nonentity. In this manner 
a hidden error might be detected, and sound sense sub- 
stituted for subtile nonsense. 

To leave the petty affairs of this nether world, and 
once more ascend into that region of never-ending bliss 

— heaven ! — let us see how the critics and contempo- 
raries of the " SON OF GOD [' comported themselves 
towards that holy person, who revealed to them nothing 
but God's pure and everlasting truth given in the form 
of " Commandments." — Put him to death ! — Crucify 



PREFACE. 405 

him ! — Scourge him ! — Spit upon him ! — Mock him ! — 
He breaks the laws of Moses ! — and calls himself the 
" Son of God !"— If you are the " Son of God/' save 
yourself and come down from the cross ! 

Among those who compassionated the ignominious 
death inflicted by the chosen people of God on the 
" Saviour " and enlightener of the world, we find a 
pagan Governor. u I find not fault in this man" 
says Pontius Pilate ; and he washed his hands of the 
whole affair, saying " I am innocent of the blood of 
this just person; see ye to it." — But the multitude 
cried the more — " Crucify him ! — and let his blood 
be upon us and our children \" 

If the History of the monstrous atrocities per- 
petrated by the chosen people of God on the person of 
the " Messiah " — whom they deemed a false prophet, 
and punished accordingly — which is merely the u Word 
of Man" — we repeat, if this recital is to be con- 
sidered Doctrine, because it has place in the " Sacred 
Volume " and on that account must be considered the 
"Word of God" — then, indeed, does the Religion 
of Christ bear a very doubtful character \ for, being 
Doctrine, that is, precept, it must be a strict rule of 
conduct. Yet such conduct would teach us to load 

s2 



406 PREFACE. 

with ignominy and put to death every one who — • like 
the Messiah — attempted to teach men their moral 
duties, and thus ameliorate the condition of the world. 
What a perversion of true Christianity to suppose that 
good deeds — even on earth — should be rewarded with 
unheard-of cruelties ! 

Are not those reprehensible who presume to assert 
that to be Doctrine which stands in the " Holy Book" 

— merely because it was voted canonical by some 
earthly councils in the early stage of Christianity ? — 
and equally so in condemning all who dissent from this 
wise decision ? That only can be the " Word of God " 
which is wholly and entirely spiritual, and which never 
could at any time have affected Sense. Then that 
only which is the production of Reason can be of this 
character — purely spiritual. Whatever has struck the 
senses of men, and is recorded by them, must of 
necessity be the " Word of Man/' The bystanders who 
witnessed the Crucifixion of Jesus between two thieves 

— piercing his side with a spear— the blood and water 
that issued from the wound — his affecting address to 
his mother and his favourite disciple — if they have 
recorded these facts faithfully, are the authors of the 
History of the Crucified Jesus! — If not, that very 



PREFACE. 407 

History becomes a fiction. How moral and religious 
precepts are to be extracted from the records of such 
inhuman proceeding it would puzzle a saint to dis- 
cover ! 

History — which records actions performed on 
earth, and is consequently the "Word of Man " — 
gravely informs us that the glorious persecution of 
heretics — who refused to imbibe the pure Doctrine of 
Christ, which is the " Word of God," as administered 
by the Vicar of Christ and successor to St. Peter — 
was carried on with such signal success that, under one 
Cardinal — who was also Grand Inquisitor-— more than 
one hundred thousand heretics were proceeded against 
and subjected to the rack and torture as a sure mode of 
instilling into their minds pure Science or the " Word 
of God " — and that six thousand were condemned to 
the flames, as a sumptuous banquet for the gratification 
of their Almighty Maker — the only just and true God ! 
— Oh miserably deluded mortals, to burn and torment 
the flesh, by order of the Holy Ghost, with a view of 
enforcing " Christianity !" So magnificently did these 
Grand Inquisitors revel in the delights of fire, sword, 
and bowstring — and, to crown the whole, in that 
splendid illumination of Christ's Doctrine, the auto 



408 PREFACE. 

da fe — so thoroughly did they intoxicate themselves 
with the supreme joys they were providing for the true 
believers in Christ, and so satisfied were they in the 
holy zeal displayed at these grand spectacles — that, in 
enforcing the value and importance of the u Holy 
Office," it was said that " God was the first Grand 
Inquisitor — Adam and Eve the first heretics — Jesus 
Christ was also an Inquisitor, and commenced his 
mission by the death of Herod I" But a truce to these 
absurdities, since pure u Science" has superseded the 
necessity of employing the thumb-screiv to bring con- 
viction of the truth of the precepts of Jesus home to the 
bosom of every rational creature. 

How was the " Saviour " rewarded for the flood of 
light which he poured forth on mankind — " a light to 
lighten the Gentiles " — a " Revelation" of such per- 
fect purity and so grounded in the " PRINCIPLE 
OF REASON," that no rational being can gainsay its 
truth— verily, a "DIVINE REVELATION," partaking 
of the sublimity and exalted purity of the Maker of 
Reason ! Look at the gratitude of the world to the 
MAN who devoted himself so entirely to fulfil the 
mission with which he was charged — as to disregard 
all the threats of the men in power — to suffer the most 



PREFACE. 409 

degrading revilings of the illiterate and vulgar — even 
to be spit upon and scourged by the common soldier — 
mocked and treated with contumely by the bystander 
— deserted by his disciples — at length, after being 
robed in the royal purple and crowned with a crown of 
thorns, till the blood started on his forhead, declared 
in derision — King of the Jews — -he suffered the most 
excruciating pangs as a martyr with unheard-of forti- 
tude — was even nailed to the tree — for the sake of 
truth and the " PRINCIPLE OF REASON." Not- 
withstanding, when he was in the agonies of death, he 
was soothed with hyssop, and, to assuage his thirst, 
vinegar on a sponge was given to the expiring Christ. 
In the midst of his agonies, and in the sharpness of 
death, he pathetically implored his heavenly Father, 
crying with a loud voice, Mnilty Tlu? 'bit *6n (Psalm xxii) 
and gave up the ghost. 

How touching and impressive is the sympathy and 
compassion of the Ci Saviour" on the painful recital by 
Mary of the death of her brother Lazarus ! — seeing 
Mary weep, and the Jews that were with her in tears, 
he groaned in the spirit and was troubled : and, in 
confirmation of his humanity, "Jesus wept." In the 
intensity of his mental agony on the cross, and the 



410 PREFACE. 

height of his passion, when the sweat dropped from 
him like great drops of bloody he prayed more fervently, 
and said : — " Father ! — forgive them, for they know 
not what they do ! " 

So thoroughly did the " Saviour " anticipate the 
lamentable, disgraceful, and overwhelming torments 
that were to terminate his mission — to which he 
was betrayed by one of his own disciples with a Kiss 
— that he said to the twelve : — " My soul is ex- 
ceedingly sorrowful, even unto death — tarry ye here 
and watch with me" — and he went a little farther, 
and fell on his face, and prayed, saying : — c: Oh, my 
Father ! let this cup pass from me, if it be possible — 
Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee. — 
Nevertheless — 

" NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE, BE DONE ! » Amen ! 

THE AUTHOR. 

1 , Park Road, 
Regent's Park, 
March 29, 1834. 




T II K I, () K l)\S r H A V K M , 

' ■ ' ird< i On b'.ijj n n i 

■ LSI 



INTRODUCTION. 

A work proving, as the present is intended to do, the 
sublimity and divinity of the Christian Dispensation, 
from its own internal evidence, will be hailed by all 
good men as a consummation devoutly to be wished. 
All former efforts to prove the divinity and truth of 
this heavenly doctrine, from the " Book " itself, have 
uniformly been considered weak and inefficacious, 
because they merely quoted texts out of the work to 
support its own merits. But a very little reflection 
will convince the most sceptical mind of the complete 
success of the present mode of proof. A very superficial 
perusal of the " Sacred Volume" will satisfy the most 
careless reader that this inestimable book contains 
matter of two very opposite natures ; in order to do 
justice to both portions of the work, it will be obvious 
that each is susceptible of a very different kind of 
treatment. 

s5 



412 INTRODUCTION. 

It is unparalleled the mischief which arises from 
treating a subject in an improper manner ; for instance, 
to expect the same conviction to flow from matters of 
History that the mind is forced to give to the precepts 
of Morality. Hence the endless disputes as to the 
validity of a " Book," which, when resolved into its 
distinct elementary parts, cannot admit of two opinions. 
Whenever & principle is apprehended by the Reason of 
man, all rational creatures must of necessity assent to 
it ; for Reason cannot err : it is the last, it is the only 
standard of truth — Man should love virtue and shun 
vice. — The only science that in any way can compare 
with Morality, in point of the purity and universality 
of its principles, is pure Mathematics. In both these 
sciences, Reason decides in a universal and'Jiecessari/ 
manner — never to be reversed. Thus, that a circle is 
round receives immediate assent — so it always was, so 
it ever will be — if it ever was esteemed rational to be 
good, and irrational to be wicked, so it always was, so 
it ever will be. 

How very differently is History circumstanced ! A 
fact of history can have existed only at one point of 
time, and under no circumstances can it ever recur — 
for the time in which the fact took place has evanesced, 



INTRODUCTION. 413 

and will never more return — for instance, the birth of 
Christ. Now this important event is placed by historians 
in the first year of the present era; but for the truth 
or falsehood of this assertion we are constrained to 
rely on the testimony of some individual who records 
the fact, either from his own observation, or from its 
having been related to him by some one else, on whom 
he is obliged to depend. Even at the present moment, 
chronologists are at variance as to the truth of this 
truly momentous fact of history ; some insisting that 
it was prior to the year one. Thus much is certain, 
that this glorious event must have happened either 
before, or after, or at, the point of time recorded in 
history, for no other case is possible. Now what 
universality is there when parties disagree ! 

The miracles even come under the consideration of 
History, as being events that have addressed the 
senses of some individual, and been by him either 
recorded or communicated to some one else, by whom 
they are recorded. Nor is it in the power of any person 
to prove that such circumstances have not occurred. 
Take for instance our Saviour's transfiguration. Here 
we have the testimony of three men, Peter, James, 
and John, who all declare that Christ's face shone like 



414 INTRODUCTION. 

the sun, and that his raiment appeared as white as 
snow \ then a cloud overshadowed them, and they were 
all very much frightened. These facts are recorded by 
Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and they ail agree in the 
main circumstances. Surely this is authority enough 
to rank these events as historical facts. But what is 
still more in their favour is, that it is totally impossible 
for any human being to gainsay that these men did 
actually receive impressions on their senses, which 
produced such belief in their minds. 

Nor do these events or the Miracles generally imply 
contradictions to the laws of nature. On the contrary, 
they absolutely confirm and establish these immutable 
laws of God, that so uniformly regulate his mundane 
system. Every Miracle, or sensible appearance, is 
stated to fill up apart of SPACE, and to have occurred 
at a certain point of TIME. So far from the Miracles 
either requiring the abrogation or even the suspension 
of the unalterable laws of nature, they on the contrary 
actually confirm and fix these laws for ever — nay, even 
the most ancient History that we know of also con- 
firms these laws. The "Bible," in describing the 
very generation of our earth, states that every part 
filled up Space, and took place in Time. So fixed and 



INTRODUCTION. 415 

unalterable are these laws of nature, that any testimony 
of a fact which neither fills the one nor occurs in the 
other cannot gain the least credit, nay, cannot even 
be conceived, therefore cannot form a part of history. 
It has been said by some writers on this subject, 
that it would be unbecoming the perfect ivisdom of 
God to make laws and then break them. Facts are 
realities that have actually addressed the Senses of 
some Individual, consequently conformed to the laws 
of Time and Space ; and it is only when they are 
related to other persons that they constitute History. 
But, if every fact recorded in history could be established 
beyond the possibility of doubt, this would not alter the 
nature of these facts, which are real events, having 
arisen and vanished in time: as the birth, ministry, 
and crucifixion of our Saviour, each of which occurred 
at some point of TIME, or they could not have occurred 
at all. 

Different, indeed, are the Doctrines taught by Jesus 
Christ. These divine truths, when once uttered, remain 
unalterably the same — the strongest proof that they 
do not constitute any part of the changeable phenomena 
of nature, or exist, where nature does, in TIME and 
SPACE : they must consequently be out of the sphere 



416 INTRODUCTION. 

of things which are perpetually changing — that is to 
say, they are in ETERNITY, where no change can 
take place. Well, then, may we say that God's 
commandments partake of his own divine nature, and 
are, like his ineffable self, immutable. It must now 
indeed be evident that the Doctrines of Christ are 
precepts of a perfectly pure Morality — of universal 
application ; and, when once acknowledged by Reason, 
though never perceived by the Senses, are absolutely 
admitted by all reasonable creatures to form a code of 
divine laws, which admit of no dispute, but command 
instant Conviction : as, Love God with all thy heart, 
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thy 
neighbour as thyself — that is, be strictly virtuous 
whatever may be the consequences. These laws are 
divine laws, and placed by the Deity in the Reason of 
man, so that he who fulfils these commandments will 
feel conscious of having done his duty, and he who 
neglects them feel a moral unworthiness. 

It must now be obvious that these are pure, im- 
mutable, and consequently divine or spiritual, laws, 
and commanding not only for men but for all beings 
endowed with Reason — even of a higher order — as 
angels : for they are the very constituents of that 



INTRODUCTION. 417 

faculty. The purity of these laws proves their divine 
nature, and must convince the most sceptical that they 
do not constitute any part of the mundane system ; 
consequently they can only regard the soul, which 
every one acknowledges to be spiritual or immaterial, 
and therefore cannot relate to the material substances 
of this world. The inference is here strikingly power- 
ful, namely, that these divine laws are implanted in 
our rational or moral nature, for the sole purpose that 
we should render ourselves worthy to be made partakers 
of that kingdom which is prepared for us from the 
foundation of the world. 

If the view here taken of the New Testament is new, 
it most certainly is equally true ; for that which is 
spiritual cannot be material, or subject to the laws of 
matter, much less can it be subjected to the records of 
history. Who shall describe or relate the particular 
operations of a power which they have never beheld ? 
Who shall record the motives which actuate the soul, 
which no human eye can perceive, or pronounce on 
its immortality otherwise than through the reasoning 
faculty ? He alone can describe or record the infinite 
powers of the soul who himself is infinite. It is 
therefore strikingly obvious that principles, which are 



418 INTRODUCTION^ 

themselves infinite and immutable, require a very different 
kind of treatment from historical facts. To the Senses 
and their ordinary mode of judging they cannot be 
submitted, for they ever elude their grasp. No one 
will surely be hardy enough to say that he has either 
seen or felt a principle. Then how is it that we are 
actuated by these all-powerful and invisible essences ; 
that we respect and revere them more than all that 
can be offered to gratify the Sense f Reason must be 
the Faculty which takes cognizance of these perfectly 
pure, nay, spiritual and divine beings, which exercise 
such a powerful influence over our souls, and fit us to 
inherit the Eternal Kingdom of Christ. 

Those, however — if such there be — who prefer 
considering the Miracles as oriental forms of speech, 
or metaphorical illustrations of the new doctrine, instead 
of historical facts, have, indeed, an ample field from 
which to draw perfect moral precepts, always dis- 
playing the pre-eminence of the spirit above the flesh; 
thus confirming the Christian Doctrine, and esta- 
blishing for ever the divinity of Christ : for instance, 
Christ walking on the water. This is, indeed, a figura- 
tive exposition of the whole doctrine, indicating that 
the soul or spirit is so superior to the body or flesh 



INTRODUCTION. 419 

that in all temptations it has the power of conquest, 
and final victory within itself : for u the kingdom of 
God is ivithin us," and constitutes the moral part of 
man's nature, which manifests itself in conscience as 
the power that decides whether we have discharged our 
duty or not, and is very properly denominated " Pure 
Practical Reason/' Indeed, there is not one Miracle 
which is not replete with moral information. The 
temptation in the wilderness is a forcible illustration 
of the power possessed by man to overcome all the 
seductions of the inclinations, and steadily to adhere to 
the moral law planted in his Reason. It also affords 
a powerful lesson that, in our most pressing necessities, 
we ought to rely upon the favour and assistance of 
God, and never to lose our confidence in his goodness. 
Even the darkness which took place at the crucifixion 
is a beautiful emblem, implying that the Son of 
Righteousness withdrew from our terraqueous globe, 
and wafted himself to his own spiritual abode of 
eternal bliss : not, however, without leaving an inde- 
lible example of strictly upright conduct, and of a 
never-failing obedience to the moral law, which ex- 
ample, so far from being effaced by time, is sure to 
become more efficacious as enlightenment advances, and 



420 INTRODUCTION. 

Pure Practical Reason is more immediately cultivated. 
Rending the veil of the temple may be considered a 
type emblematic of the abolition of the Mosaic and 
the perfect establishment of the Christian Dispensation. 
The parables constantly employed by our Saviour in 
enforcing his doctrine sufficiently evince his predilec- 
tion for figurative language, as being a very forcible 
mode not only of conveying instruction but of adapting 
it to the plainest capacity. 

Nor, indeed, is it so absolutely certain that profane 
History does not sometimes indulge in metaphor. 
Poetry, we know, delights in personification, calling 
the sea Neptune, and the sun Apollo. The grave and 
sedate History of Rome very circumstantially relates 
of Caligula that he consecrated his favourite horse 
High Priest, invested him with the dignity of Consul, 
provided him with marble apartments, indulged him 
with a golden rack and manger, besides allowing him a 
suite of attendants. May not this be refined censure 
concealed under a metaphor, reflecting upon the irregu- 
larity of the Emperor's conduct ? 

Let it not, however, be supposed for a moment that 
history can be dispensed with, for it is as impossible to 
teach morality without an investigation and comparison 



INTRODUCTION. 421 

of the actions of men recorded in history as it is to 
teach the mathematics without an extended surface on 
which to describe its Diagrams. All that we here 
insist upon is, that the pure part in each science is 
susceptible of a different mode of treatment from the 
empirical part. It is an acknowledged fact that the 
mathematical diagrams exhibited to the Senses are 
only symbolical representations, which raise in the 
mind the pure mathematical figures. These, indeed, 
can never be felt, or in any way address the senses. 
Exactly so is it in Morality. The various actions of 
man recorded in history and ranked as good, bad, or 
indifferent, are so many empirical symbols, referring 
each action to its motive, wherein alone its morality 
consists. The more accurately a diagram is described^ 
the nearer it approaches to the mental figure. For 
this, however, it never can be substituted. This is 
precisely the case with " Morality ;" the better the 
action, the nearer it approximates to its moral type, 
which is planted in the Reason of man, and denomi- 
nated the " Moral Law." Nor, indeed, can man from 
the action decide upon the motive : this is an affair of 
the individual with his Maker, and is not cognizable by 
man. Though thousands might witness the action of 



422 INTRODUCTION. 

plunging the dagger into the heart, thus terminating 
the existence of the individual, who but God shall 
judge the motive! — Who shall pronounce judgment 
on the motive of Manlius Torquatus, who killed his 
own son for acting without orders ! Being deeply im- 
pressed with the importance of attention to orders in 
military tactics, he acted towards his son as he would 
towards any one else under his command — he dis- 
patched him, though his exertions were crowned with 
a glorious victory. Was this a crime or a virtue in 
Manlius % 

That the morality of an action depends on the 
motive is universally admitted. Hence Morality is the 
doctrine of motives, or a 6i Pure Science of Reason,' 5 
where every motive is examined and compared in point 
of purity with the sacred standard — the moral laiv, 
seated in Reason, where every action we are going to 
perform must be first submitted to this test, and either 
be allowed or prohibited : thus it is we know whether 
the motive is good or bad. In this way, man is the 
natural judge of his own actions, for he either acquits 
or condemns himself by that divine spirit of truth 
within him, Conscience ; and, having acted con- 
formably to its dictates, nothing more can be required 



INTRODUCTION. 423 

of him. But the very essence of Morality consists in 
man's discharging his duty quite disinterestedly •, that 
is, purely for the sake of duty. Thus Reason com- 
mands Morality, and gives man the power of obtaining 
the victory over the sinful lusts of the flesh — the 
carnal inclinations. When these pure and permanent 
laws of Reason are represented as the divine com- 
mandments of God, they constitute Religion, that is, 
a demand made on the finite being to render his will 
conformable to the will of God. 

It is a fatal error to mistake the type for the essence 
— to adore the " Book/' which is the work of man's 
hand, instead of the idea of the pure spiritual essence 
which the type awakens in the mind. This is, indeed, 
worshipping a material Deity, an Idol ; and is as gross 
a superstition as any that can be charged to the 
Roman Catholics, or even to the most savage tribes. 
Sciences and precepts are spiritual or mental things, 
and can exist only in mind, and not in matter. To 
teach the science of Geometry, a book is necessary, as 
well as to awaken religious sentiments ; yet no one 
would say that he had seen or felt a mathematical 
figure because he found diagrams in Euclid, or that he 
had discovered the spiritual essence of the Deity in a 



424 INTRODUCTION. 

printed book. It is, indeed, true that matter is necessary 
to instruct mind; for without it there could not be 
any object to think of; yet thoughts raised in the 
mind by material objects are themselves purely mental, 
that is, spiritual. So, in Religion, History, which 
records the actions of men, is essential, in order that 
these actions may be investigated as to their relative 
purity and correctness. But, to consider any action 
performed by man in experience, or in time and space, 
as a religious act, is quite a mistake. For it is the 
motive alone which is of a religious nature, and which, 
being invisible to man, can never become an object of 
experience. These spiritual essences are, therefore, 
affairs between man and his Maker. It must not, 
however, be supposed that it is even hinted at, in the 
most distant manner, that religious forms and ceremo- 
nies are to be dispensed with. These essential requisites 
for raising ideas which inspire religious awe are abso- 
lutely indispensable. All that is required is, that the 
one should not be confounded with the other, nor the 
ceremonials be mistaken for the Religion itself. Our 
great Prototype, Christ, has taught the futility of the 
outward action, and shown that " true Religion can 
exist only in the heart" 



INTRODUCTION. 425 

The view here taken of historical events is cor- 
roborated by a recent work of considerable merit, 
entitled " History of the Jews/' in the " Family 
Library." On that momentous event, the birth of 
Christ, this work is greatly at variance with the (i New 
Testament." This History represents Archelaus, the 
son of Herod the Great, as reigning in Judea three 
years before the birth of Christ, which directly con- 
tradicts the relation of Matthew that Herod's massacre 
was intended to include the infant Christ. Thus the 
period which has to boast of this memorable event, the 
" Birth of our Saviour," is involved in apparently 
inexplicable difficulty, and furnishes an additional proof 
of the necessity of dividing the labours of the inspired 
writers into two distinct parts — the Doctrinal, 
which commands instant and universal assent ; and 
the Historical, which will employ the researches of 
the learned for an indefinite period, without their 
ever arriving at a conclusion which can be absolutely 
depended upon. Fortunate, indeed, is it that the 
" Religion of Christ " is not built on such a sandy 
foundation ; but that, on the contrary, the principles of 
Morality which our Saviour expounds in his teaching 
need only be understood to sink so deep into the heart 



426 INTRODUCTION. 

that he who feels their perfect purity and divine origin 
will suffer martyrdom in support of their truth — a 
glorious triumph of principle over fact. The excellent 
work just referred to has the following passage, which 
still further proves the propriety of the divarication 
here attempted. " < The Bible/ that is, the < Old 
Testament/ is strictly historical, not theological ; yet 
some will not read the most ancient and curious 
History in the world, because it is in the Bible ; others 
read it in the Bible, with a kind of pious awe, which 
prevents them from comprehending its real spirit. 
The latter look on the distinguished characters in the 
Mosaic annals as a kind of sacred beings scarcely 
allied to human nature. Writers, unfriendly to revealed 
religion, starting with the same notion that the Mosaic 
narrative is uniformly exemplary, not historical, have 
enlarged, with malicious triumph, on the delinquencies 
of the patriarchs and their descendants — perplexity and 
triumph surely equally groundless. The patriarchs 
and their descendants are the depositories of certain 
great religious truths, the Unity, Omnipotence, and 
Providence of God ; not solely for their own use 
and advantage, but as conservators for the future 
universal benefit of mankind. Hence human affairs 



INTRODUCTION. 427 

took their ordinary course ; the common passions and 
motives of mankind were left in undisturbed operation. 
Higher and purer notions of the Deity, though they 
tend to promote and improve, by no means necessarily 
enforce moral perfection ; neither does the actual 
interposition of the Almighty, in favour of an individual, 
or nation, nor his employment of them as instruments 
for certain important purposes, stamp the seal of divine 
approbation on all their actions. Actions are to he 
judged by their motives, and not by their undesigned 
consequences." 

Since the " Old Testament" is the repository of 
these highly important religious truths, the Unity, 
Omnipotence, and Providence of God, even though 
intermingled with historical facts, what shall we say of 
the sacred deposit, handed down to us in the u New 
Testament," which contains the ark of the new covenant 
— a perfect code of moral laws — with a practical 
example of the possibility of fulfilling them to the very 
letter, in the sacred and divine person of their author, 
who, in propounding the ever-to-be adored doctrine of 
the Holy Trinity, has shone with a light which never 
man did, and has distinguished himself from every 
other individual whom the world has beheld since its 

T 



428 INTRODUCTION. 

creation ! This only true and genuine notion of the 
Deity, first promulgated by Christ, partakes of the 
nature of God himself, and must endure as long as the 
Divine Essence subsists. 

All difficulty, which this only perfectly pure notion 
of the Godhead may appear to involve, will be instantly 
dissipated by attention to the following observations. 
First, it is absolutely impossible for man to think of 
oneness — it is a complete nonentity, consisting neither 
of matter, form, nor connexion of these two elements. 
Hence, when the human mind cogitates, it must think 
of something. But a thing which is composed neither 
of matter nor form is positively nothing. Conse- 
quently the word thing always implies a compound of 
three elements in one — a triad of principles, or in fact 
a Trinity in Unity. Secondly, if we think of a 
material object, it is quite evident that it must consist 
of matter, or parts which fill up Space and occupy 
Time, that is to say, the thing must be an object of 
experience, and can only be known by its addressing 
the Senses : for instance, a house, a horse, a tree, and 
so on. The materials of which the thing consists, as 
the bricks which compose the house, are the matter ; 
the arrangement of these parts of matter constitutes its 



INTRODUCTION. 429 

shape, as round, square, or oval, and is the/orm of the 
house. But this form could not be given to nothing ; 
hence the necessity of the matter ; and neither of these 
can be annulled without totally annihilating the thing, 
with this inseparable condition — that these particular 
bricks constitute this identical house, with this deter- 
minate form. So that these two elements necessarily 
imply connexion ; a third, and the three together, 
constitute the thing called a house. This reasoning 
applies to the whole of nature, and quite exhausts the 
entire mundane system, which is composed of an 
endless series of triads. Now, as matter is divisible 
ad infinitum, it must consist of an infinite number of 
parts ; and no one part, strictly speaking, can exist by 
itself, otherwise the division would not be infinite : 
the least number of parts that can be connected is Hvo; 
but, if these two parts were not connected, there would 
not be a thing. The elements here are two parts, and 
their union, making three necessary elements, none of 
which can be annulled. It is quite obvious that every 
object of nature which fills up time and space conforms 
to this law of a trinity in unity. Let us carry this 
parity of reasoning to mental things which exist in 
time only. Thus, all mathematical figures equally 

t2 



430 INTRODUCTION. 

conform to this law : take a line for instance ; it 
consists of parts in connexion, and is, in fact, a series 
of triads; for the smallest possible part of a mental 
line must consist of two mathematical points and their 
union — a triangle must consist of three lines united at 
three points, yet forming only one conception. A 
circle consists of a centre, periphery, and radius — 
three necessary elements, none of which can be annulled. 
This law holds with all mental operations, as substance 
and properties in connexion constitute a thing : Cause, 
Effect, and the necessary dependence of the one on 
the other; for that is no cause which has not pro- 
duced an effect, and there can be no effect without a 
cause : so that all mental things obey this law. We 
have only to ascend one step higher in the scale of 
reasoning, and carry this notion of a trinity in unity 
to the infinite, and the Christian Doctrine will be fully 
displayed. 

Infinite nothingness is a nonentity. Therefore, if 
the mind of man is to be occupied with a rational 
thought, it must think of an infinite something ; but 
this must consist of some infinite parts, or it would be 
an infinite nothing. Now, the least possible number of 
infinite parts that can be united is two; but, unless 



INTRODUCTION. 431 

these two are connected by a third, they could not 
constitute an infinite something. Hence, even in the 
infinite, the same process of reasoning is required to 
constitute a thing, namely, three elements united in 
one, or a trinity in unity. 

Having now satisfactorily accounted for the mystical 
number three in one, it only remains to show that 
these infinites are pure and holy, and Christ's theory 
of the Trinity will blaze forth with the effulgence and 
permanence of truth itself. Thus, then, it is : every 
thing which pervades the sphere of nature consists of 
matter, is corruptible, and always changing its state, 
consequently, is neither pure nor holy. Nor will 
nature ever furnish us with matter that merits this 
epithet — nay, we cannot obtain a glass of pure water, 
strictly speaking. Hence the things of nature, which 
fill space and occupy time, are uniformly considered as 
corruptible — u What is sown in corruption is raised 
in incorruption ; what is sown a natural body is raised a 
spiritual body/' The class of objects that rank under 
these conditions are called objects of nature or material 
objects, and are only manifest to the senses because 
they fill up time and space. They are objects of 
intuitive or immediate knowledge, and may be termed 



432 INTRODUCTION. 

Intuitions. None of these objects can be considered 
holy or pure, because they are generated in the soil of 
corruption, where every thing is mutable. Neither 
can the actions of man, which manifest themselves in 
time, deserve this sublime epithet ; for they, like man, 
while in time and space, are mere fleeting phenomena, 
whose value lies in the purity and sanctity of the 
motives which induce them. The next class of objects 
that come under consideration are the reminiscences 
retained in the mind after the removal of the material 
object. Such are the conceptions we have on leaving 
any person or thing ; as, parting from a friend, we 
retain his form in our mind, which mental form cer- 
tainly does not fill up any space, though it is generated 
and retained mentally in time. All mathematical 
figures conform to this law. Though these objects 
may be deemed purer than those which fill both time 
and space, yet they do not merit the epithet pure. A 
conceptive circle must be allowed to exceed by far the 
purity of one described on a material surface ; but it is 
not infinite ; it is always definite when it is intelligible. 
These are objects existing wholly in the mind, though 
they are derived from material objects, and may be 
called Conceptions. 



INTRODUCTION. 433 

Intuitions occupy both time and space ; Conceptions, 
time only ; both which have their finite limits : for 
conceptions evidently arise and vanish in time, conse- 
quently are mutable and changeable, like every thing 
in the sphere of Nature. The " Supreme Being" is 
totally free from these restricting limitations ; with the 
ineffable essence of the Divinity every thing is infinite, 
unlimited, pure, absolutely perfect, and eternal. No 
part of this divine essence could inhabit corruptibility, 
neither can it exist within the changeable sphere of 
time and space. Hence the Deity — that is, the Creator, 
who is also the Preserver, that is, the Saviour, and, by 
the spirit of connexion between these two infinite 
attributes, the Ruler, of all his works — is perfectly 
pure, free from corruption, immutable, and absolutely 
sacred, and holy : this is, indeed, a true and rational 
Idea of the Divinity. Objects, which are perfectly 
pure and holy, transcend the confines of nature, and 
cannot exist with the changeable phenomena in time and 
space,but inhabit the pure and holy region of Eternity, 
and maybe termed Ideas : so that the class of objects 
which are out of time and space — if they are to exist at 
all — can be no where else but in Eternity. Such are 
the Deity, the soul, and all pure and spiritual beings. 



344 INTRODUCTION. 

As it is perfectly clear that the finite cannot com- 
prehend the infinite, all that remains for us to do, in 
order to obtain only a faint notion of these sacred and 
holy spirits, is to personify them. We have a powerful 
proof of the existence of our own " Reason/' which is 
of so pure and holy a nature that, if it were separated 
from the inclinations which inhabit the flesh, it could 
only act reasonably. Of its spirituality no one can 
doubt. It is equally certain that this pure Faculty 
could not have made itself ; therefore, it must have had 
an Author. But that Being must be eminently rational, 
pure, and holy, to have communicated such qualities to 
his production. The instant this Cause had produced 
this Effect, arose the third necessary element, the 
relation or Connexion between the two, which com- 
pletes the notion of a Triune Essence. It is customary 
to say, when any one makes another in his own likeness, 
that he has begotten a son, which always implies the 
relationship between Father and Son. Now, if we 
personify these pure and Holy Powers, nothing can be 
more natural than to call the first the holy father, the 
second in order the holy son, and the necessary con- 
nexion subsisting between these infinite spirits the 
holy ghost, being of the same nature as the father and 



INTRODUCTION. 435 

the son. But the Godhead of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one — all equally 
infinite, holy, spiritual, and co-eternal. But without a 
Father there can be no Son, much less a holy and 
necessary Connexion between these two infinite and 
Eternal Spirits. 

This doctrine was so perfectly understood in the 
infancy of Christianity, that, when a fierce contention 
took place on this most vital point of the " Christian 
Religion," the council of Nice, A. D. 325, decided the 
question in favour of a Trinity in Unity, as the only 
true notion of the Godhead, and determined that the 
dogma which Arius and his followers wished to esta- 
blish was a nonentity. And it is very remarkable that 
all the learning and all the talent, which have been 
bestowed on this momentous doctrine for more than 
fifteen centuries, have not been able to reverse this 
decision. So firmly fixed in the Reason of man is 
Christ's doctrine, that it has not only endured through- 
out this long period, but it must remain to the end of 
time, and even be found in all its purity in Eternity. 

However, at the period of this hot debate, it was 
deemed necessary to propose some standard or test, 
in order to know under what banner each individual 

t 5 



436 INTRODUCTION. 

ranked himself. Hence arose that superlative string of 
syllogisms — the finest piece of reasoning ever offered to 
the contemplation of human Reason — known by the 
name of the Athanasian Creed. The only obnoxious 
clauses are those two which open this matchless com- 
position, and the concluding sentence. Yet even these 
are strictly the words of our Saviour ; and, when the 
venom is extracted from the mere words, the sense 
flashes conviction upon us with an electric effect. The 
object of this Creed was, to be a test, not only that the 
doctrines of Christ were cherished in the heart of the 
individual professing Christianity, but of his determi- 
nation to act up to the purity of this spiritual faith. 
Christ says, Unless you believe in me, the Xoyo;, the 
word, you cannot be saved. Now, to believe in the 
doctrine of Christ is to feel such an internal conviction 
of its truth, that its contrary is not for a moment to be 
conceived ; and to act up to its divine precepts is to 
be morally good, on all occasions, without considering 
what consequences may flow from the action — thou 
shalt not lie — either for promised reward or threat- 
ened punishment. But how can any one be expected 
to act morally who has not the moral type indelibly 
fixed in his own soul f Can a man do the impossible ! 



INTRODUCTION. 437 

— No ! where mystery begins Virtue and Religion end. 
Can a man obey laws which he does not understand ! 
Hence it is clear that these clauses only repeat the 
words of Christ, and this Creed most fully develops his 
doctrine. Thus it is impossible to do otherwise than 
acknowledge the Catholic Faith, and to promise to 
keep it whole and undenled; which, in modern language, 
is to say : " / am a being endowed with Reason, whose 
laws I ought to follow, or I cease to he a reasonable 
creature, and am obnoxious to my Creator. The most 
prominent law of my Reasoning Faculty is the ' Moral 
Law ; ' / am forced to consider its dictates as the 
immediate commandments of God, and to acknowledge 
that I ought to obey them strictly, in order to he 
acceptable to that ineffable Being ivho has given me 
existence." What reasonable man would shrink from 
this confession of faith ! — who will not acknowledge 
that he possesses a reasonable soul, subsisting in human 
flesh, which of itself is a trinity in unity, as the soul, 
the body, and the connexion, constitute man ! For the 
soul, separated from the body, is not man, but an angel 
or spirit ; neither is the flesh, distinct from the spirit, 
man : therefore, man must necessarily be the two con- 
joined, or a trinity in unity. Never was doctrine so 



438 INTRODUCTION, 

expounded. What can surpass the boldness,, the fire, 
the energy, and, above all, the truth of this astonishing- 
production ; and this in the very infancy of the Christian 
Religion ! In fact, the Creed of St. Athanasius is 
the most argumentative and soundest part of our 
Liturgy. 

Those who wish to revel in the pure delight of 
perfect doctrine will have the satisfaction, in this 
Divarication, to find all the beautiful and soul-exalting 
precepts of Christ collected together, and prepared to 
their hand, entirely free from the perplexity and inter- 
mixture of the historical facts, as presented to us by 
the inspired writers. They will here be enabled to 
enter fully into the sublime morality of this doctrine, 
which is the vital essence of the Christian Religion ; 
they will enjoy the advantage of having this doctrine 
expounded in modern language^ embracing all the 
benefits derivable from the advanced state of science, 
and particularly from the high cultivation of the 
Reasoning Faculty. It is to be hoped that a combination 
of these excellencies will facilitate the labours of the 
truly pious, and promote their praiseworthy endeavours 
to reach that kingdom prepared for them from the 
beginning of the world, by walking in the paths of 



INTRODUCTION. 439 

virtue and avoiding the seductions of v ice, so that they 
may feel the deepest conviction of having acted up to 
the dictates of the moral laiv, and thus be acquitted by 
conscience as having strictly performed their duty. 
Reason, indeed, would be a contradictory and illusory 
faculty, if it did not fulfil the promises it holds out to 
man : that when we have terminated our Sensible 
existence, and our soul is set free from the trammels of 
the flesh, our Rational Faculty will have its sphere of 
action enlarged, and become capable of those pure 
delights of which it shall have rendered itself ivorthy ; 
for no reasonable creature would be justified, nay, 
would deem it reasonable, to be rewarded beyond his 
deserts. Reason says, Man is entitled to no more 
happiness than is due to him from the purity of the 
motives that have induced his conduct ; and, therefore, 
disclaims all right to accept more. Now, as the pro- 
portion between Virtue and Happiness is not meted 
out to us in an equal degree in this probationary sphere, 
that Reason may be consistent, we must of necessity 
inherit a future state, in order to complete hereafter 
what is so happily begun here. 

If the maimer of expounding Christ's Doctrine in 
this work proves, upon full investigation, to be not 



440 INTRODUCTION. 

only correct but the only true one, then indeed will it 
last as long as the u Holy Book " which it attempts 
to illustrate : if otherwise, let it be consigned to its 
fate — oblivion. " The discovery of truth ought to be 
the object of all true philosophy ; and the attainment 
of this end must, to a philosopher, be the greatest of 
all possible blessings. If, then, a man is satisfied that 
he has arrived at the fountain head of pure truth ; and 
yet, because the generality of men hold different 
sentiments, dares not avow it, but tacitly gives assent 
to falsehood, he withholds what, according to his own 
principles, it is for their good to know — he prefers his 
personal good to Truth — and proves that, whatever he 
may profess, he is not imbued with the spirit of true 
philosophy." Should, however, any thing occur, on 
the side which is devoted to Doctrine, that does not 
command instant conviction, the reader is requested to 
transfer it to the page of History. 

It seems to have been in sheer mercy to the laity 
that the Roman Catholic clergy interdicted the reading 
of the " Sacred Volume ; " for, as their own highly- 
cultivated understandings could not master the " Holy 
Book," little did they deem it suited to the capacity of 
the vulgar ; and it is very remarkable that, though so 



INTRODUCTION. 441 

many ages have rolled on, yet we are not universally 
agreed as to its strict meaning. When will the period 
arrive that there shall be but one opinion of the " Sacred 
Book!" — then only when its truth is fully elicited. 
Whatever tends to level the Scriptures to the plainest 
understanding must, at the same time, tend to enlarge 
the sphere of their influence, and thus to fulfil the 
injunction — that they are to be " preached to all the 
nations of the world." But who can read the sublime 
doctrine contained in this Volume, and withhold his 
consent from its truth, or dwell on these sacred 
religious truths, and not be convinced of their divine 
origin ! 

When Religion is disincumbered from historical 
facts — which constitute no part of its essence, however 
much they may have contributed to its promotion — 
its adoption is compulsory on every rational creature : 
and when its divine truths are purified from all that 
is extraneous, and collected and arranged so as to 
form a sacred science, they will be as powerful in their 
appeal, and as susceptible of proof, as any proposition 
in the mathematics. Then will the Scriptures be fully 
understood, and the possibility of entertaining two 
opinions on this important subject be for ever destroyed. 



442 INTRODUCTION. 

The reason why all mankind assent to mathematical 
truths is, because mathematics is a science of Reason. 
When Religion once assumes the strict form of a 
science, it must also be a rational science, and be fully 
apprehended by all reasonable creatures : then, indeed, 
we shall have no need of wars and massacres to establish 
religious truths. Principles cannot be enforced by the 
sword : neither can the rack, nor all the punishments 
threatened by the ingenuity of the bigot, nor all the 
powers of nature combined, with a view to torture or 
eventually destroy the delinquent, either confirm or 
refute principle. This is the calm operation of the 
Rational Faculty — the quiet and slow work of Reason, 
by the safe and sure march of syllogism, but, when once 
obtained, with full conviction of its truth, established 
for ever. 

The present is, indeed, but a faint attempt to 
display some of the treasures of the " Sacred Volume " 
— who shall exhaust the treasure of such a mine ! — 
and to suit its divine precepts, in some measure, to 
the advanced state of enlightenment at the present 
day. 

Should this work survive the present edition, I shall 
avail myself of all the remarks of the learned critics — 



INTRODUCTION. 443 

whose severest censure I invoke — that its successor 
may be more worthy of the dignity of the subject. A 
first attempt, where every thing is new in the manner 
of treatment, and can be improved, developed, and 
perfected, by repeated efforts only, must naturally be 
replete with defects. It is to be hoped that this 
attempt to illustrate the Doctrines of Christ will induce 
those, whose heads and hearts are not only in unison 
with the author's, but who can boast superior gifts of 
Providence for unfolding the " Scriptures," to engage 
in this delightful task, so that the whole world may 
become enlightened with respect to this " Divine 
Morality." How propitious, indeed, are the present 
times for the accomplishment of this wish, when the 
march of intellect has passed the Rubicon, and must 
now either succeed in its glorious enterprize or perish 
in the attempt ! 

Should the arguments adduced in this little volume 
have the blessed effect of clearing up the doubts and 
perplexities that may have prevented a single individual 
from embracing, with heart and soul, the doctrines 
of the Christian Dispensation, it will then not only 
have accomplished its object — that of facilitating the 
universal adoption of the Religion of Christ — but the 



444 INTRODUCTION. 

author will feel amply recompensed for his labour in 
the reflection that another member is added to those 
who are already in communion with Christ. 

That these pages may operate such conviction on the 
minds of those who are perplexed with doubt on this 
most vital subject — the future welfare of their souls — 
is the devout and fervent prayer of 

THE AUTHOR. 

Timberham Lodge, 
near Reigate, Surrey, 
October 6, 1830. 



ARGUMENT 



DIVARICATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 



The writings of the " New Testament " contain the Christian 
Religion, and were "Revealed" by Jesus Christ for the 
good of man. They may be divided and arranged under two 
distinct heads, thus : — 

MAN 



SOUL. 

DOCTRINE. 

THESIS. 

Under this head are com- 
prised all pure principles, which 
are of a spiritual nature, and 
consequently not to be met with 
in Experience, that is, in Time 
and Space. Pure Principles are 
inherent in the Reason of man, 
and constitute the internal basis 
of " Religion. " 



BODY. 

HISTORY. 

ANTITHESIS. 

Under this head are com- 
prised those parts of the " New 
Testament" which record facts 
that have taken place on Earth. 
Facts are realities that have 
actually addressed the Senses, 
and, by being related, constitute 
"History" 



criterion. 



Principles can be contem- 
plated by Reason alone, and 
can never address the Senses. 



criterion. 



Facts are known only by their 
having addressed the Senses, 
and in no other way. 



446 



ARGUMENT FOR THE DIVARICATION. 



DOCTRINE. 

AXIOMS. 

1. Pure Doctrinal Principles 
cannot be refuted. 

2. True Religion must be 
founded on pure doctrinal prin- 
ciples. 

CONCLUSION. 

As true Religion is founded 
upon pure doctrinal principles, 
it follows, that true Religion 
is incontrovertible, and, being 
of a spiritual nature, is totally 
independent of Historical Facts. 

PROOF OF DOCTRINE. 



HISTORY. 



AXIOMS. 



1. Historical Facts may be 
doubted. 

2. True Religion, being of a 
spiritual nature, must be inde- 
pendent of historical facts. 

CONCLUSION. 

If true Religion is not inde- 
pendent of historical facts, it 
follows, that, as historical facts 
may be doubted, a Religion 
founded on History may itself 
be doubted. 

PROOF OF HISTORY. 



CONVICTION. 



This is a necessary or Ra- 
tional Belief; it must be true, 
because its contrary is impos- 
sible. 



BELIEF. 



This is a contingent credence 
given to Historical Facts, which 
may be true, because they are 
possible and probable. 



Thus, by disincumbering the Principles of the Christian 
Religion from Historical Facts, their universal adoption is 
facilitated. 



DIVARICATION 



OF THE 



NEW TESTAMENT 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 
Material, or Earthly. 



€f)e 4£o£peI according to |*>t. ffll&ttytby. 

CHAPTER I. 

1. The genealogy of Jesus Christ, 
the son of David, from Abraham to 
Joseph. 

17. So all the generations from 
Abraham to David are fourteen, and 
from David to the carrying away 
into Babylon are fourteen, and thence 
to Christ are fourteen generations. 

18. The birth of Jesus Christ was 
when his mother Mary was espoused 
to Joseph ; before they came together, 
she was found with child of the Holy 
Ghost. On this account, Joseph, who 
was a just man, intended to put her 
away privately: but, being warned in 
a dream, he did not do it. 

25. But he knew her not till she 
had brought forth her first-born son ; 
and he called his name Jesus. 

CHAPTER II. 

1. Jesus was born at Bethlehem, 
in Judea, in the days of King Herod; 



448 



MATTHEW 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY; 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the wise men came to the king at 
Jerusalem, and asked for the King of 
the Jews, saying they had seen his 
star in the East. 

I. Herod inquired at what time 
the star appeared, and sent them to 
search for the young child. 

II. At Bethlehem they saw the 
3 T oung child and Mary his mother, 
and presented gifts and frankincense 
to him. But, being warned in a dream 
not to return to Herod, they took the 
young child and his mother and went 
into Egypt, and remained there until 
the death of Herod. For the King 
sought to kill the young child. 

21. Joseph then took the young 
child and his mother, and went into 
the land of Israel. But, when he 
heard that Archelaus, the successor 
of Herod, reigned in Judea, though 
he was warned in a dream to return, 
he turned aside into Galilee, and 
dwelt in a city called Nazareth ; for 
he was afraid of Archelaus. 



CHAPTER III. 



2. Repent — for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand. In order to ob- 
tain pardon for our offences, we must 
lead a virtuous life; and thus prepare 
ourselves for eternity. 

6. Confession of sin, indicated by 
baptism. This is an outward and 
visible sign of the initiation of the 
infant into the New Dispensation, 
and a complete acknowledgment that 
as the child advances his Reason will 
expand, and prove to be the inward 
spiritual grace which will be able to 
quell all the undue affections of Sense. 
Whatever regards Sense is visible; 
while all the moral laws, and what- 
ever emanates from Reason, are invi- 
sible to the natural eye, though con- 
firmed by Conscience in their absolute 
truth beyond the most palpable fact. 
So is faith greater than k?ioidedge. 



I. At this time John the Baptist 
was preaching in the wilderness. He 
was dressed in a camel's hair garment 
with a leathern girdle round his waist: 
his food was locusts and wild honey. 

5. And many persons from Jeru- 
salem and about the Jordan were 
baptised by him. 

II. John said, I, indeed, baptise 
with water unto repentance ; but he 
that comes after me baptises with 
the Holy Ghost and with fire. 

13. Then Jesus came from Gali- 
lee to Jordan, and was baptised by 
John. 



MATT 



449 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



Material, or Earthly. 



CHAPTER IV. 



1. " To be tempted of the devil"; 
is to feel conscious that the inclina-j 
tions of Sense are striving to over-j 
come the moral law seated in our 
Reason. Abstinence must be con-! 
sidered as an admirable corrective of' 



1. Then Jesus was led into the 
wilderness to be tempted by the de- 
vil; and, when he had fasted forty 
days, he was hungry ; and the tempter 
said to him, If you are the Son of 
God, command these stones to be 



all the irregular desires of Sense, andj made bread. 

must naturally allow Reason to as-: 5. Then the devil took him into 
sert its rights. Thus is man victorious! the holy city, and set him upon a 
in the good fight, by evincing the; pinnacle of the temple; and said, If 
supremacy of Reason over Sense,! you are the son of God, cast yourself 
making the law of God the supreme' down. — I will give you all these 
law, the law of spirit superior to thej kingdoms if you will worship me. 
law of matter, the law of Syllogism, 12. When Jesus heard that John 
eminently above the law of Sensation-, was in prison, he went into Galilee; 
— strong evidence that the invisible* he left Nazareth and dwelt in Caper- 
or spiritual part of man, his Reason,' naum 
is all-important, while the visible or 
material part of man, his body, is 



17. Now Jesus began to preach, 
and, walking by the sea of Galilee, he 



only relative, and endures but for a[ saw the two brothers, Simon Peter 



finite time. 

4. Man shall not live by bread; 
alone, but by the Word of God. 

7. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
thy God. 



and Andrew, casting a net into the 
sea, for they were fishermen; and he 
said to them, Follow me, and I will 
make you fishers of men. They fol- 
lowed him. Not far from thence he 



serve. 

17. Repent — for the kingdom of 
heaven is at hand. 



10. Thou shalt worship the Lord saw in a ship mending their nets John 
thy God, and him only shalt thou and James, sons of Zebedee; he called 

also to them ; and they immediately 
left their ship and their father. 

23. And Jesus went about all 
Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the 
Kingdom in the Synagogues, and 
healing all manner of diseases among 
the people. 

CHAPTER V. 



3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for their's is the kingdom of heaven ; 
and they that mourn, for they shall 
be comforted ; and the meek, and 
those who thirst after righteousness ; 
and those that are merciful ; and the 
pure in heart; and the peacemakers 
and those that are persecuted for 
righteousness' sake. 

16. Let men see your good works, 
and glorify your father which is in 
heaven. 



1. Jesus then went up into a 
mountain and taught his disciples. 



17. I am not come to destroy the 
law, but tn fulfil it. 



450 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The "Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 

22. He who is angry with his 
brother without a cause is wrong. 

28. Whosoever looketh at a 
woman to lust after her hath com- 
mitted adultery in his heart. 

39. Whosoever shall smite thee 
on the right cheek, turn the other 
to him also. 

43. Love your neighbour and your 
enemies ; bless them that curse you ; I 
do good to them that hate you ; and 
pray for them that persecute you. 

47. Be ye, therefore, perfect, as I 
your Father in heaven is perfect. 



CHAPTER VI. 

1 . Do your charities in private. 

6. When you pray, enter your 
closet, and, when you have shut the 
door, pray to your father in heaven 
in secret, and not as the hypocrites 
in public. 

7 . When you pray, use no vain re- 
petitions, for God knows what you 
need before you ask him. 

9. But pray after this manner: 
" Our Father which art in heaven, 
hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom 
come, thy will be done in earth as it 
is in heaven ; give us this day our 
daily bread, and forgive us our tres- 
passes, as we forgive them that tres- 
pass against us ; and lead us not into 
temptation, but deliver us from evil : 
For thine is the kingdom and the 
power and the glory, for ever and 
ever. Amen." 

19. Lay not up treasures upon 
earth, but in heaven, of which you 
cannot be robbed : for this treasure 
is in your heart. 

25. Ye cannot serve God and 
mammon : but seek first the king- 1 
dom of God and righteousness. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE. 



lil'a r,?J. or JLanhh/. 



CHAPTER 

1 . Judge not, that ye be not judged. 

12. Whatsoever ye would that men 

should do to you, do you even unto , 



VII. 



MATTHEW, 



451 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
them. For this is the law and the 
prophets. This is the great moral 
rule. On this must all Religion be 
founded. This is the Doctrine of 
Christianity, and is eminently dis- 
tinguished from everything that has 
preceded this Divine Revelation. It 
is the very ideal of pure spiritual 
sanctity. Only by practising this 
pure conduct can we hope to inherit 
the Kingdom of God. This law of G od 
is generated by Practical Reason, 
and whoever is not conscious of its 
purity, divinity, and validity, is not 
an accountable being. The " Moral 
Law," therefore, must form the foun- 
dation of all Religion. This is the 
law of the soul, and resides wholly 
in Eternity; while the laws of the 
body, which are extension and suc- 
cession, or Time and Space, can never 
enter Eternity. Hence the freedom 
of the soul horn all the restrictive laws 
of matter. Love and reverence for 
this pure law of Practical Reason 
constitute morality, and may be ex- 
pressed scientifically thus : "Follow 
the dictates of Reason ;" that is, on 
all occasions realise the mode in which 
Reason acts, and your conduct will 
always be rational. This must be 
the universal law for all rational crea- 
tures. In scriptural language we 
should say that these laws of Reason 
are the WORD of GOD, and that 
every narrative of a series of sensa- 
tions that originate in Sense consti- 
tutes the WORD of MAN. In 
" Holy Writ," therefore, the essence 
of Reason is God, and the excesses 
of Sense are the devil. 

13. Vice is very seducing, and 
Virtue demands sacrifices ; therefore, 
avoid vice and love virtue. 

21. Not he that saith Lord ! Lord ! 
shall enter the kingdom of heaven, 
but he that doth the will of the 
father. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 
Material, or Earthly. 



28. When Jesus had ended these 
sayings, the people were astonished 
at his doctrine. 



452 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



HISTORY. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1. When Jesus came down from 
the mountain, great multitudes fol- 
lowed him, and he cured a man of the 
leprosy. And when Jesus was at 
Capernaum, a centurion came to him, 
and said that his servant was sick of 
the palsy. Jesus said I will come 
and heal him; but the centurion 
said, I am not worthy that you should 
come under my roof; only speak the 
word, and my servant will be healed ; 
and his servant was healed at the 
same hour. 

14. When Jesus came to Peter's 
house, he saw his wife's mother sick 
of a fever ; he touched her hand, and 
the fever left her. Many were brought 
j to him that were sick, and he healed 
them. 

18. Now, when Jesus saw the great 
multitudes about him, he desired 
them to go on the other side; but a 
certain Scribe said, Master, I will 
follow, you wheresoever you go. One 
of his disciples said, Lord, suffer me 
first to go and bury my father; but 
Jesus said, Follow me, and let the 
dead bury their dead. 

23. He then went into a ship 
with his disciples, and there arose a 
great storm ; now Jesus was asleep, 
but they awoke him, and he rebuked 
the wind, and the sea became calm. 
When they had crossed over to the 
other side, two men came to him pos- 
sessed with devils ; he cast out the 
devils, and sent them into a herd of 
swine, and they ran violently into the 
sea, and perished in the waters. 

CHAPTER IX. 

1 . Jesus now returned in a ship to 
his own city, where they brought to 
him a man sick of the palsy ; and he 
said to him, Take thy bed and go to 
thine house. 

9. As Jesus was passing along, he 



MATTHEW. 



453 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiribml, or Heavenly. 



13. I do not call the righteous but 
sinners to repentance. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
saw a man at the receipt of the cus- 
toms, whose name was Matthew ; 
he desired him to follow him, which 
he did. 

10. Jesus and his disciples sat down 
at meals with publicans and sinners, 
and the Pharisees wondered at it ; 
but Jesus explained that it was to 
reform them. 

18. Now a certain ruler came to 
him and told him that his daughter 
was just dead ; but if you will lay 
your hand upon her she will live. 
Then Jesus and his disciples went 
with him. 

20. A woman, who had an issue 
of blood for twelve years, came be- 
hind Jesus and touched the hem of 
his garment, and was cured from that 
moment. 

23. When they had arrived at the 
ruler's house, he found the people 
lamenting, but he said to them, The 
maid is not dead but sleepeth . They, 
however, did not believe him ; and he 
took the maid by the hand, and she 
arose. 

27. As Jesus departed, two blind 
men followed him, beseeching him 
to cure them ; he touched their eyes, 
and their eyes were opened. Jesus 
desired them not to name it; but 
they spread his fame every where. 

32. A dumb man was also brought 
to him, and the dumb man spake. 

35. Jesus went about teaching the 
Gospel of the Kingdom, in the villages 
and cities, and in the synagogues, 
preaching the new doctrine, and heal- 
ing every sickness and every disease 
among the people. 



CHAPTER X. 



7. The kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. 

23. Fear not those who kill the 
body, for they are not able to kill the 
soul. The body, as extended and suc- 



1. He now gave the power to his 
twelve disciples to heal all manner of 
sickness and cure all kinds of disease. 

The following are the names of 
the Twelve Apostles : 

u 2 



454 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
cessive matter in Time, must always 
be subject to change, which occasions 
the vicissitudes of this life. The soul, 
on the other hand, is wholly free 
from all the operations of matter. 
This pure spirit can alone reside in 
the abode of the infinite, or in Eter- 
nity. 

29. "According to your faith be it 
unto you." Faithisaconscientiousde- 
pendence on the principles of Reason', 
the conviction of whose truth nothing 
can refute. This is the true Word ! 
op God. How can the fallible opinions 
of men bear the slightest comparison 
with purity like this ? How then can 
the Word of Man ever be considered 
otherwise than liable to err ! 

37. The love of God must exceed 
that with which a father loves his 
son, or a mother loves her daughter ; 
and he that does the least good action 
shall have his reward in heaven. The 
love of God is shown by obeying his 
commandments. This is evinced by 
a sincere reverence for that perfectly 
pure law of Practical Reason, the 
"Moral Law," and may be called 
practical love, consisting wholly in 
the purity of the motives which in- 
duce our earthly actions. Motives are 
spiritual inhabitants of Eternity, 
and totally invisible to man, being 
the result of syllogism. Actions are 
material changes in Time, and re- 
cognized only through sensation. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 

1. Simon, who was called Peter. 

2. Andrew, the brother of Simon. 

3. James, the son of Zebedee. 

4. John, the brother of James. 

5. Philip. 

6. Bartholomew. 

7. Thomas. 

8. Matthew, the Publican. 

9. James, the son of Alphseus. 

10. Lebbaeus, whose surname was 
Thaddseus. 

11. Simon, the Canaanite. 

12. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed 
Christ. 

5. These twelve Jesus sent forth, 
and commanded them to go and 
preach the new doctrine, heal the 
sick, and raise the dead. Provide 
nothing for your journey, but when 
you enter a city inquire who in it are 
worthy; there abide, and if they shall 
not receive you, nor hear the word, 
when you depart out of that house or 
city, shake the dust off your feet. 

16. 1 send you forth as sheep among 
wolves; be, therefore, wise as ser- 
pents and harmless as doves. And 
if you are delivered up to judgment, 
speak according to the spirit of truth 
that is in you. If they persecute 
you in one city, go to another, and 
fear them not. 



27. No man knows the Father 
bat the Son ; if you will find rest for 



CHAPTER XI. 

1. When Jesus had finished his 
instructions to his disciples, he went 
into the cities and preached. Now 
John, who was put in prison, sent to 
know if it was Christ, and Jesus de- 
sired them to tell John what they 
had seen and heard : that the blind 
received their sight, the deaf heard, 
and those that were lame walked, 
the sick were cured, and the dead 



MATTHEW. 



455 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
your souls, do the work of the Father ; 
that is, perform all the moral duties 
commanded by Reason, which is the 
Xoyog, or the Son, and the author of 
Reason is Qebg, or the Father, which 
generates the third member of the 
" Holy Trinity," or the Holy Spirit, 
(TvvexvQ) of connexion betweenFather 
and Son. All the seductions from 
the strict performance of our moral 
duties originate in Sense. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
raised, and the poor had the Go?pel 
preached to them. 

11. Jesus said to the crowd that 
were collected that there was not a 
greater man than John the Baptist, 
though from his days till now the 
kingdom of heaven had suffered vio- 
lence. 

20. Jesus then upbraided those 
cities which had beheld his works, 
and yet did not repent. 



CHAPTER XII. 



30. He who disputes the " Word 
of Man " shall be forgiven ; but he 
that denies the " Word of God " 
shall not be forgiven either here 
or hereafter. The Word of God 
is Reason, the Word of Man is 
Sense. 

35. The good man bringeth forth 
good things, and the evil man evil 
things, and by these shall he be 
judged. The good man is always 
under the influence of Reason, and 
by evincing its supremacy he proves 
his goodness before God. He never 
allows himself the gratification of 
any set of sensations till they are ap- 
proved by Conscience. The evil man 



1. Jesus afterwards went through 
the corn-fields, on a sabbath-day, 
with his disciples, who, as they were 
hungry, plucked the ears of corn, 
and began to eat. But the Phari- 
sees said, Is it lawful to do this on 
the sabbath ? 

3. Jesus replied — Have you not 
read what King David did when he 
was hungry ? — he went into the house 
of God and ate the Showbread, which 
was contrary to law. 

13. There was a man in the syna- 
gogue, who had his hand withered, 
and they asked Jesus if it was lawful 
to heal on the sabbath day ? to which 
he replied it was lawful to do good 
on a sabbath-day. And the man 
stretched forth his hand, and it was 
immediately healed. 

14. The Pharisees now tried to 
destroy Jesus for breaking the sab- 
bath ; but he withdrew from thence. 
The Pharisees were astonished at 
his powers, and said, This fellow 
derives his power from the devil. 

28. But Christ said, A kingdom 
divided against itself cannot stand : 
so that the power by which I work 
these wonders is not derived from 
Satan, but from Heaven, and those 
who are not with me are against me. 

46. While he was talking to the 

people, his mother and his brethren 

, desired to speak with him. And 



453 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, The Word of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
perverts the order of his faculties by 
gratifying every sinful lust of the 
flesh, which originates in Sense. 
This perversion makes Reason the! 
servant of Sense, and in the language 
of Scripture would be called the aban- 
don ment of God for the devotion of 
the Devil. 



Material, or Earthly. 
he said, Who is my mother ? Who 
are my brethren ? He stretched 
forth his hand, and said to his disci- 
ples, Behold my mother and my bre- 
thren ! For whosoever does the will 
of my Father, who is in heaven, is 
my brother, my sister, and my mo- 
ther. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



4. The parable of the sower im- 
plies that good principles, being cul- 
tivated in a good heart, bring forth 
abundantly good actions: but, on the 
contrary, good principles are thrown 
away upon a bad heart ; and as man 
improves or neglects his soul, so shall 
he be rewarded or punished in the 
world to come : in this way this su- 
blime doctrine is levelled to themean- 



1. On the following day, Jesus 
sat by the sea-side ; but, as the mul- 
titude was great, he went into a 
ship, and addressed them in para- 
bles. 

10. The disciples asked him why 
he spake to them in parables. He 
replied, that otherwise they could 
not understand. 

53. When Jesus had finished his 



est capacity. All the other parables , parables, he taught in the synago- 

have a similar tendency. The good! gues, to the astonishment of the 

heart implies a sincere devotion to 1 Doctors who inquired: Is not this 

the laws of God, as placed in our the carpenter's son? — Is not his 

Reason and confirmed by Conscience, mother called Mary? — Are not his 

The bad heart means giving way to brethren James, Joses, Simon, and 

all the irregular desires of Sense, Judas? — And are not his sisters all 

without first trying our motives by with us ? How comes he then to 

the test of Reason. know all these things ? 

CHAPTER XIV. 

1 . At this time, Herod the tetrarch 
heard of the fame of Jesus ; but he 
insinuated that it was John the Bap- 
tist, who was raised from the dead, 
that did these mighty works; for 
Herod had put John in prison on ac- 
count of the reproaches he made for 
his illegal marriage with Herodias, 
his brother Philip's wife, and would 
have put him to death, but he feared 
the multitude, who considered him as 
a prophet. 

6. At the celebration of Herod's 
birthday, his daughter, by Herodias, 
so much delighted him by dancing 
before him, that he promised on oath 
to give her whatever she would ask : 



MATTHEW. 



457 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 

8. " Give me John Baptist's head 
in a charger." What is this but grati- 
fying the bad passion of the heart — 
revenge — absolutely forbidden by the 
Christian Dispensation, which enjoins 
us to return good for evil. Reason 
never can approve the indulgence of 
the sinful desires of Sense. So that 
such conduct can never be considered 
as fulfilling the Word of God, but 
most decidedly as being subject to 
Satan, and following the Word of 
Man. 



The Word of MAN == SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
and, being instructed by her mother, 
she said, Give me John Baptist's 
head in a charger. 

9. Now the King was much con- 
cerned at this request ; but, for his 
oath's sake, he commanded it to be 
given to her. John was accordingly 
beheaded in prison, and his head was 
given to the damsel, who gave it to 
her mother. • 

12. The disciples of John took the 
body and buried it, and then went 
and told Jesus, who immediately 
took ship and departed into a desert 
place: but, as soon as the people 
heard of his removal, they followed 
him on foot out of the cities. 

14. When Jesus saw the multitude 
that had come to him, he took com- 
passion on them, and healed their 
sick. In the evening his disciples 
said to him, This is a desert piace; 
send these people away, that they 
may procure refreshment. 

16. But Jesus said: They need 
not depart ; give them something to 
eat. But they retorted: We have 
here only five loaves and two fishes. 
Jesus commanded the multitude to 
sit down on the grass, and he distri- 
buted the provisions to his disciples, 
who gave it to the multitude, and 
they ate till they were satisfied. 

20. After the repast, theygathered 
twelve baskets full of the fragments 
which remained, after having sup- 
plied about five thousand with food, 
besides women and children. 

22. Jesus then desired his disci- 
ples to go in a ship over to the other 
side, while he dispersed the multi- 
tude: then he went into a mountain 
alone to pray. 

24. At this time a storm arose and 
tossed the ship violently. In the 
fourth watch they perceived some- 
thing on the sea, which they took 
, for an apparition ; but it proved to 



45S 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The "Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Sjtiritual, or Heavenly. 



The "Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
be Jesus walking on the sea; they, 
however, cried out for fear. 

27. But Jesus spoke to them and 
said — Be of good cheer, it is I: be 
not afraid. Peter then said, Bid me 
come to you ; but, as Peter approached 
him, he began to sink, and cried out 
Lord, save me ! and, on their arriving 
at the ship, the wind ceased. 

34. When they had gone into the 
land of Genesareth, as soon as Je- 
sus was known, they brought all 
those who were sick and diseased to 
him to be cured ; and he made them 
whole. 



CHAPTER XV. 



4. Honour your father and mother, 
that you may inherit the kingdom of 
God. 

1 1 . Not that which goeth into the 
mouth defileth a man, but that which 
cometh out of his mouth, namely, 
Deceit. There can be no morality 
without the most sincere love, venera- 
tion, and reverence, for the supreme 
law of God — Reason — and an ab- 
solute determination to suppress all 
the sinful lusts of the flesh induced 
by Sense, which is the law of Man. 

18. What proceedeth from the 
mouth comes from the heart, namely, 
evil thoughts: hence result murders, 
adulteries, thefts, false witness, blas- 
phemies, and these things defile the 
man, while unwashed hands are harm- 
less. Mereceremonies are not Religi- 
ous or Moral ; a strict attention to the 
dictates of Reason, as acknowledged 
by Conscience, alone constitutes pui - e 
morality, which always implies the 
suppression of the irregular desires 
of Sense. 



1. The Scribes and Pharisees of 
Jerusalem then came to Jesus and 
asked why his disciples transgressed 
the tradition of the elders. They 
do not wash their hands when they 
eat bread. Jesus asked them, Why 
do you transgress the commandments 
of God by your traditions ? 

10. Jesus called the multitude and 
said to them, Hear and understand 
this doctrine. His disciples then told 
him that the Pharisees were offended 
at what he had said. He replied, If 
the blind lead the blind, they will 
both fall into the ditch. Peter asked 
Jesus to explain this parable, which 
he did. 

21. Jesus now departed, and went 
to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon : here 
a woman besought him to cure her 
daughter, who was grievously af- 
flicted ; and her daughter was made 
whole. 

29. Jesus then went near the sea 
of Galilee, and ascended a mountain, 
where they brought numbers that 
were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and 
others, and he healed them all. Now 
this multitude of people remained 
with him three days, having nothing 
to eat ; he took compassion on them, 



MATTHEW. 



459 



DOCTRINE,, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The "Word Of MAN == SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
and said to his disciples, I will not 
send them away fasting: but they 
replied, we have not sufficient bread 
in the wilderness for so many ; we 
have only seven loaves and a few 
small fishes. He gave them to his 
disciples to distribute to the multi- 
tude, who sat down on the ground, 
and, when they were satisfied, they 
collected seven baskets of fragments. 
The number that were fed amounted 
to four thousand, besides women and 
children. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



16. " The son of the living God." 
The pure expounder of Reason can 
alone be rational. But, the Author 
of Reason, being God the Father, 
Geoc, the production, or the finite 
Reason, must be God the Son, Xoyoc, 
neither ofwhichare conceivable apart; 
therefore, the connexion between 
them is absolutely necessary—cri;j/€%?}f 
— which generates the Holy Trinity : 

God the Father . . . . = 0io$. 

God the Son = Xoyoj . 

God the Holy Ghost . = <ruvsp£>ic. 

18. " On this rock I will build my 
Church." The supremacy of the 
Romish Church is founded on this 
solitary text. Now, the Catholic 
Church means the "New Dispensa- 
tion," as originally founded by Christ, 
in fact, " Pure Primitive Christi- 
anity." It is lamentable to observe 
the flagrant departure from this primi- 
tive model that has taken place in the 
" Romish Church," which has not 
only possessed itself, at times, of all 
temporal power, by its entire devotion 
to mammon, but has actually polluted 
the stream of pure Christianity which 
originated with our Saviour. 

25. It is wrong to think more of 
this world than of the next. We 
must never allow the seductions of I 



12. When Jesus came to the coast 
of Caesarea Philippi, he inquired of 
his disciples what the people said of 
him : and they told him that some 
said he was John the Baptist, some 
Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of 
the prophets. But what say you of 
me ? Simon Peter then said : Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God. 

11. Blessed are thou, Simon Bar- 
jona, this is revealed to thee by my 
father, who is in heaven, and I say 
unto thee, thou art Peter, and on this 
rock I will build my church, and no- 
thing shall prevail against it. He 
then charged his disciples that they 
should tell no one that he was Jesus 
Christ. 

21. Jesus now told his disciples 
that he must go to Jerusalem, and 
suffer much from the Elders, and 
Chief Priests, and Scribes. Peter then 
said, Far be it from thee, this shaJl 
not happen to thee. But Jesus re- 
torted and said to Peter : Get thee 
hence, Satan ; thou art an offence to 
me, for thou adherest more to the 
things of this world than of the world 
to come. 



u 5 



460 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
Sense to derogate from the purity 
and sublimity of the "Moral Law," 
the first law of Reason. 

26. What does it profit a man to 
gain the whole world, if he loses his 
own soul? or what shall a man give 
in exchange for his soul ? The one- 
way to save. your own soul is by a 
strict adherence to the Command- 
ments of God as revealed to you 
through " Pure PracticalReason," 
and announced in your Conscience. 
This conduct must be pursued out 
of pure love and reverence for the 
Moral Law, which is the only power 
to limit the unruly passions of Sense. 

27. Hereafter every man shall be 
rewarded according to his deserts. 
Reason, that pure spiritual law of 
God, assures us that good conduct 
shall be rewarded and bad conduct 
be punished. Now, as this due pro- 
portion of rewards and punishments 
is not meted to us in this world, it 
is clear there must be an hereafter, 
or Reason would contradict itself. 
But, even to suppose such a case is 
to cast a censure on the Author of 
Reason — in fact, to make God the 
author of deceit — in other words — 
the Devil. " Spare us, good Lord ! " 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 



Material, or Earthly. 



CHAPTER XVII 



1. Six days afterwards, Jesus took 
Peter, James, and John, into a high 
mountain to pray, and was trans- 
figured before th em. Peter said to 
Jesus, It is good for us to be here ; 
and while he was speaking a cloud 
overshadowed them, and a voice out 
of the cloud said, This is my beloved 
son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear 
him. The disciples now fell on their 
faces, and were frightened : but Je- 
sus touched them, and bade them 
arise, and say nothing of what they 
had seen. 

14. When they had descended from 



MATTHEW. 



4Gi 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the mountain, a certain man came 
to him, in great tribulation, and re- 
quested him to cure his son, who was 
a lunatic, saying that his disciples 
could not succeed. Jesus immediately 
cured him. 

22. While they remained in Gali- 
lee, Jesus told his disciples that he 
should be betrayed into the hands of 
his enemies, who would kill him ; but, 
on the third day, he should rise again. 

24. And when they had come to 
Capernaum, Peter was asked if his 
master paid tribute-money — he said, 
Yes. Then Jesus said to Peter, Cast 
a hook into the sea — the first fish 
you catch will have a piece of money 
in his mouth, which you can give to 
them, though the demand is unjust. 



CHAPTER 

1. To become acceptable in the 
kingdom of heaven, you must be as 
innocent as a little child in the pu- 
rity of your motives, and thus you 
do the will of the Father, who is in 
heaven. No motive can be pure that 
does not spring from Practical 
Reason — scientifically. All pure 
motives a.nseirom the "Autonomy of 
the Will," and have nothing else in 
view but love and reverence for the 
Moral Law seated in our moral 
Reason. All impure motives are 
generated by the " Heteronomy op 
the Will"— the law of " Specula- 
tive Reason" — which urges our 
instincts and inclinations to commit 
all sorts of excess till restrained by 
the Moral Law. Motives arising from 
the "Autonomy ok the Will" are 
absolutely good in themselves, and 
produce morality. Motives arising 
from the " Heteronomy of the 
Will " give birth to immorality , are 
f il)M)lutely bad in themselves, when 
they strive to accomplish something 
foreign to the Moral Law seated in . 



XVI 



462 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 






The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
Reason, and further the unlawful 
desires of Sense. "Autonomy of 
the Will " is when Reason gives 
the law to itself : hence good motives. 
" Heteronomy of the Will" is 
when the instincts of Sense influence 
the motive through Speculative 
Reason, and search for some gratifi- 
cation distinct from Reason : hence 
bad motives. 

22. Forgive each other, and your 
father in heaven will likewise forgive 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 



you. 



21. Peter asked Jesus how many 
times his brother should offend him 
and be forgiven. Jesus gave him to 
understand that there was no limited 
number of times, but that on all oc- 
casions he should forgive him. 



CHAPTER XIX, 



16. " No one is good but God who 
is in heaven." How can frail man, 
the creature of Time and Space, who 
is always affected by the vicissitudes 
of Sense, be compared to the perfect 
purity of Reason, whose only abode is 
Eternity ? Even Christ, the Saviour 
of mankind, says that while he is the 
Son of Man, and affected by instincts 
and inclinations, he is not good. The 
body of Christ, being matter, must of 
course be subject to the law of matter, 
which is Instinct or Sense. The soul 
of the Redeemer must be an emana- 
tion of God himself, the pure spirit 
of perfect truth, seated in his Pra<> 
tical Reason. These divine laws 
he has revealed to humanity, to en- 
sure the salvation of the soul, and 
by a strict observance of them con- 
stitute a happy hereafter. When 
Christ identifies his Reason with 
the Great Reason, which was its 
author, he can be nothing short of 
the true Messiah and the only be- 
gotten Son of God — " the lamb which 
taketh away the sins of the world." 

17. To enter the kingdom of heaven 
you must be strictly virtuous, and 
keep God's commandments, which 
are engraved in your heart and con- 
firmed by your conscience. Always 
maintain the supremacy of Reason 



1. When Jesus had delivered these 
doctrines, he went from Galilee to Ju- 
dea, beyond the Jordan. And great 
multitudes followed him, and he 
healed their sick. 

3. The Pharisees asked him if it 
was lawful for a man to put away 
his wife on a slight cause? Jesus 
said, He who puts away his wife, ex- 
cept it be for fornication, and shall 
marry another, committeth adultery. 

16. Now a man came to Jesus and 
said, Good Master, what shall I do to 
inherit eternal life ? But he said to 
him, Why do you call me good ? no 
one is good but God, who is in heaven. 
The young man asked whathe should 
do to enter the kingdom of heaven. 
After Jesus had told him to keep 
God's commandments, he said, This 
I have done from my youth. 



21. Jesus said, If you wish to be 
perfect, sell all that you have, and 



MATTHEW. 



463 



DOCTRINE, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

over Sense, and you will be strictly give to the poor ; but the young man 
virtuous and acceptable to the Lord, went away sorrowfully, for he had 
Then shall you enter the kingdom of large possessions, 
heaven. 

-29. Those who lay more store by a 
virtuous life than by the enjoyment! 
of earthly things shall inherit eternal 
happiness ; that is, those who on all 
occasions act in strict conformity to 
the lata of moral Reason must neces- 
sarily always act reasonably, that is, 
" realise the mode in which Reason 
acts," consequently, suppress the in- 
stincts and inclinations of Sense : then 
they shall inherit eternal happiness. 

CHAPTER XX. 

11. Jesus then took his twelve dis- 
ciples apart and went to Jerusalem, 
saying that he should be betrayed 
into the hands of the Chief Priests and 
Scribes, and that he should be put to 
death. 

29. As they departed from Jericho, 
a great multitude followed them ; and 
two blind men, who were seated by 
the way-side, besought Jesus that he 
would open their eyes, and immedi- 
ately they received their sight. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

1. When they came near to Jeru- 
salem, and were come to Bethphage, 
at the Mount of Olives, Jesus directed 
two of his disciples to go to the vil- 
lage opposite, and bring the ass and 
colt that they would find tied there. 
If any one interrupt you, say that I 
have need of them. They brought 
the ass and the colt, caparisoned them , 
and placed Jesus thereon : and the 
people strewed their garments and 
branches of trees in the way; and, 
when he arrived in Jerusalem, the 
whole city inquired who he was. The 
people said it was Jesus, the Prophet 
of Nazareth, in Galilee. 

12. Jesus then went into the Tern - 
, pie of God, and cleared it from all 



464 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



43. The kingdom of God will be 
given to those who bring forth good 
fruits, that is, who are strictly vir- 
tuous, always obeying the Com- 
mandments of God as announced in 
Reason, and renouncing the Devil 
and all his works, which are the ex- 
cesses induced by the irregular and 
sinful desires of Sense. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
those who profaned it by traffic. The 
blind and the lame came to him in 
the temple, and he healed them. The 
Chief Priests and Scribes saw what he 
did, and were displeased. 

17. He next went to Bethany, 
where he staid ; as he returned to 
the city in the morning he became 
hungry. He saw a fig-tree on his 
road, but, finding no fruit upon it, 
he said, Henceforth thou shalt bear 
no fruit, and the tree immediately 
withered. The disciples were asto- 
nished; but Jesus told them that 
he would give them power to do 
more than this, if they had faith in 
him. 

46. When the Chief Priests and 
Pharisees sought to lay hands on Je- 
sus, they were afraid of the multi- 
tude, who took him for a prophet. 



CHAPTER XXII, 



87. Love God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy 
mind, and love thy neighbour as 
thyself. Love, reverence, and adore, 
the law of your own Practical 
Reason, which is not only an imme- 
diate emanation of the Deity, but 
the only channel through which the 
" Divine Revelation" of the Doc- 
trine taught by our Saviour can be 
acknowledged. Thus the spiritual 
communication between Man and 
his Maker becomes a channel for 
conveying the Word of God to his 
creatures, of so pure a nature, and 
in such an intelligible and universal 
manner, as never to be confounded 
with the deceitful artifices of human 
beings, which at best are only the 
Word of Man. " Ye hypocrites, 
ye neglect the Word of God, and 
teach the deceitful doctrinesof men." 



15. The Pharisees, with a view to 
try him, asked Jesus if it was lawful to 
pay tribute to Caesar. He perceived 
their intention, and desired them to 
show him the coin, which bore a 
head and inscription of the Emperor 
Caesar. He then said to them, Render 
unto Caesar the things which are 
Caesar's, and unto God the things 
which are God's. 

35. A lawyer then asked Jesus 
what was the great commandment of 
the law. And Jesus gave him this 
doctrine (see the other column), and 
said, On these commandments hang 
all the law and the prophets. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

1. Jesus desired that his disciples 
. would attend to what the Scribes and 



MATTHEW. 



465 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD == REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly.- 

25. Purity of the heart is most 
acceptable to God, and consists of a 
firm determination never to lose 
sight of the law of God, which com- 
mands us on all occasions to " realise 
the mode in which Reason acts;" 
that is, " Do unto others as we 
would they should do unto us." This 
line of conduct must of necessity 
crush all the pomps and vanities of 
the world of Sense. 



The Word Of MAN == SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Pharisees said, as they sate in the 
seat of Moses. 

23. But woe unto you Scribes and 
Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe 
of mint, anise, and cummin , and have 
omitted the weightier matters of law, 
judgment, mercy, and faith : these 
ought ye to have done, and not to 
leave the other undone. Ye make 
clean the outside of the cup and plat- 
ter : but within ye are full of extortion 
and excess. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



3. When the Gospel is preached 
universally, and firmly fixed in the 
heart of each rational being, then, 
indeed, is the end of the world of sin 
arrived. As the law of God, seated 
in Practical Reason, has become 
the sole law of our conduct, the laio 
of Satan, or the excesses of the incli- 
nations and desires of Sense, must 
be confined within due limits; this 
is a sign of the end of the world of 
sin and Sense. 

35. " Heaven and Earth shall pass 
away, but my Doctrine shall notpass 
away." How can Doctrine, which 
consists of the "Revelation" of the 
principles of Reason, ever pass away ? 
As these principles can alone reside 
in Eternity, how can they undergo 
any change? Hence they must par- 
take of all the pure attributes of the 
Divinity — they must he perfect, in- 
finite, and eternal. These principles 
are the Doctrine of Christ, and as 
strictly invisible to the natural eye, 
though confirmed mentally to the 
highest possible state of "Conviction," 
as God himself — while heaven and 
earth, or this globe and its atmo- 
sphere, as objects of Sense, which 
can alone exist in Time, must be for 
ever in a state of change, conse- 
quently, every earthly thing must 
arise and perish, that is, have a be- 



1. Jesus and his disciples viewed 
the building of the Temple, and he 
said, There shall not be one stone 
left upon another. And, as he sat 
upon the Mount of Olives, the dis- 
ciples requested him to say when 
these things would happen, and what 
sign would indicate the coming of 
the end of the world. Jesus said, 
Many will come in my name, saying, 
I am the Christ, and will deceive 
many, and many false prophets will 
arise ; but the true sign of the end 
of the world will be when the Gospel 
of the kingdom is preached univer- 



24. In the mean time there shall 
arise many false Christs and false 
Prophets, that shall deceive the very 
elect. Then shall the sun be dark- 
ened, and the moon shall not give 
her light, and the stars shall fall from 
heaven, and the powers of the hea- 
vens shall be shaken ; then they shall 
see the Son of Man coming in the 
clouds, with angels and a great sound 
of a trumpet, and gather all the 
elect. 

35. Heaven and earth shall pass 
away, but my tvords shall not pass 
away. Watch , therefore, for ye know 
not when your hour comes. 



466 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, The Word of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
ginning, middle, and end. " Watch, 
therefore, for ye know not when your 
hour comes." 

46. Be always prepared to enter 
into a future state — always keep a 
clear Conscience, which can only be 
done by constantly evincing the su- 
premacy of Reason over Sense. Then 
are ye prepared to go before God ! 

CHAPTER XXV. 

1. The parable of the wise and 
foolish virgins indicates the uncer- 
tainty of this life, and the necessity 
of always being watchful and attentive 
to our eternal welfare. 

21. The meaning of the parable of 
a man travelling into a far country 



Material, or Earthly. 



14. The kingdom of heaven is 

likened to a man travelling in a far 

that those who work righteousness country, who entrusted different sums 



will be hereafter rewarded according 
to their deserts, in that kingdom pre- 
pared for them from the foundation 
of the world ; that is to say, the good 
in everlasting life, and the wicked in 
eternal punishment. It is strikingly 
evident that, as we go out of Time, 
where we are in a constant state of 
change, and enter Eternity, we 
must partake of that Kingdom pre- 
pared for us from the foundation of 
the world, in the state in which we 
have conducted ourselves in this pro- 
bationary sphere. Reason recoils at 
the idea of our receiving rewards 
we do not merit, and rejects the idea 
of punishment for our good deeds. If 
Reason is not the spirit of truth, 
who, then, can rely upon the " Reve- 
lation" of the Redeemer! Forwithout 
Reason we can neither comprehend 
the Word of God nor control the 
sinful lusts of Sense. 



of money to his servants, some oi 
whom, by industry, doubled the 
amount entrusted to them. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

1. Jesus then told his disciples 

that the feast of the Passover would 

take place in two days, at which time 

( he should be betrayed and crucified. 



MATTHEW. 



467 



DOCTRINE. 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



26. "This is my blood, which is 
shed for the remission of sins, and 
this bread is my body." The bread 
and wine are only tokens of the 
spirit and the word. It is the spirit 
that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth 
nothing : the words that I speak are 
the spirit and the life. Eat and 
drink this in remembrance of me. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
At this time, Caiaphas, with the Chief 
Priests, and Scribes, and Elders, as- 
sembled at the palace of the high 
priest, in order to consult how they 
might secretly take Jesus and kill 
him. They determined that it would 
not be prudent to attempt it on the 
day of the feast, lest there should be 
an uproar among the people. 

6. While Jesus was at Bethany, 
at the house of Simon the leper, a 
woman came to him and anointed 
his head with precious ointment. 
His disciples were displeased at this 
act, saying, It would be better to sell 
the ointment and give the money to 
the poor. But Jesus said, This act 
will be a memorial to this woman, 
wherever my doctrine is preached. 

14. At this time, Judas Iscariot 
went to the Chief Priests and offered 
to deliver up Jesus for a sum of 
money : and they agreed to give him 
thirty pieces of silver. He now sought 
diligently an opportunity to betray 
Jesus. 

11. The disciples now asked Jesus 
where he would eat the Passover ; 
and he directed them to have it pre- 
pared at the house of a certain man 
in the city, at which place he sat down 
with his disciples, and did eat, saying, 
One of you shall betray me, but they 
all protested against so vile an act. 
Jesus then said, He that dippeth his 
hand with me in the dish, the same 
shall betray me. As he took the 
bread and wine, he said, This is my 
blood, which is shed for the remission 
of sins, and this bread is my body. 
This doctrine is explained by St. 
John : they then retired to the Mount 
of Olives. 

33. Peter said to Jesus, Though 
all men should be offended with you, 
I never will ! Jesus replied to him, 
saying, Before the cock crow thou 
shalt deny me thrice. But Peter as- 



468 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
It is the "New Testament" — rj Kawi) 
diaOrjicr) — the new dispensation, in 
contradistinction to the Old Testa-; 
ment — rj Tvakaia diaOrjKr) — given in! 
the books of Moses, also called the Si- 
naitical Dispensation. The distinction 
between these two dispensations is, 
indeed, very marked. The object of 
Moses was to regulate the conduct 
of a people in an uninformed state 
of mind, chiefly occupied in tending 
their flocks, under Patriarchs — as it 
were — in the infancy of mankind. 
How happily does this explain the 
proceedings of Moses, who, in all his 
institutions and regulations, never 
loses sight of the desires of Sense 
and mundane affairs ! His very legis- 
lation, even in the decalogue received 
immediately from God on Mount 
Sinai, consists of nothing but regu-; 
lations of an earthly nature, " till one 
greater man restore us, and regain 1 
the blissful seat" of pure enlighten- 
ment in the " New Dispensation," 
which is wholly devoted to the de- 
velopmentofthelawsofRBAsoN. The 
Christian Dispensation is the Word 
of God, the pure representative of 
the " Moral Law" as an immediate 
divine commandment, entirely free 
from all earthly considerations, lead-, 
ing the soul directly into the presence 
of its Maker, to revel in the bliss of 
heaven. The Mosaic Dispensation 
regards, not the motives, which can 
alone reside in Eternity, but merely 
the actions of men in Time, as con- 
veyed to the mind through sensation. 
The highest reward for good actions 
is obtaining the land of promise, the 
height of sensual joys, and can only 
be the Word of Man. The spiritual 
reward of the virtuous, effected only 
by the purity of the motive, is, indeed, 
to gain the blissful seat — the Kingdom 
of God — prepared for us before all 
worlds. As spirit cannot affect Sense, 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
sured him even if he lost his life he 
would never deny him. 

36. Jesus then went with his 
disciples to Gethsemane, where he 
desired his disciples to remain while 
he went to pray. He took with him 
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, 
John and James. He then said, My 
soul is exceeding sorrowful; watch 
here while I pray : he went to a little 
distance, and fell upon his face: Oh, 
my father, that this cup might be 
averted from me ! nevertheless, thy 
will be done ! When he returned to 
his disciples, he found them asleep : 
he reproached them, saying, Could 
ye not watch for one hour? Ye 
may, however, now sleep on, for I 
am betrayed into the hands of sin- 
ners. 

47. And while Jesus was yet speak- 
ing, Judas, one of the twelve, came 
with a great multitude prepared to 
seize him. He said, Whomsoever 
you observe that I kiss, that is he, 
hold him fast — they then proceeded 
to lay hold of him. Jesus said to 
them, You are come as against a 
thief, with swords and staves to take 
me. I sat daily teaching in the tem- 
ple, and you did not take me. 

5G. Then all the disciples forsook 
him, and fled. Jesus was then con- 
ducted to Caiaphas, the High Priest, 
where the Scribes and Pharisees were 
assembled. Peter followed him at a 
distance, and went into the hall in 
the palace, and sat with the servants, 
to know the issue. 

59. Now all the council sought to 
obtain false witnesses against Jesus, 
to put him to death. At length, they 
found two false witnesses, who accu- 
sed him of blasphemy. They deter- 
mined that he was guilty of death. 

67. Then they proceeded to ill 
treat him, to spit at him, and buffet 
him, saying, If you are Christ, pro- 



MATTHEW. 



469 



DOCTRINE^ 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
it must of course be generated by 
Reason, which is wholly free from 
sensation, and must consequently be 
the only true Word of God. Now, 
indeed, is the vail taken away in the 
reading of the Old Testament, which 
vail is done away by Christ in the 
New Testament. When Moses is 
read, the vail is upon the heart ; 
but, when Christ is read, it is the 
spirit of the living God, not in tables 
of stone, but in the tablets of the 
heart; for theater — Sense — killeth, 
but the spirit — Reason — giveth life. 
41. The spirit is, indeed, inclined 
to virtue, but the flesh is weak. Pure 
Practical Reason, being itself en- 
tirely spiritual, can be satisfied with 
nothing but virtue, that is, pure 
goodness; while Sense, on the other 
hand, the very generator of instincts 
and inclinations, can be satisfied 
with nothing but gratification. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
phesy who was the first that smote 
you. 

69. While Peter was in the hall of 
the palace, a damsel said : You were 
with Jesus of Galilee, but he denied 
the fact : he then went into the porch, 
and a maid said to them, This fellow 
was with Jesus of Nazareth — this 
he also denied. Shortly after, those 
who stood near Peter said, Surely 
thou art one of them. Then he began 
to curse and swear, and to declare 
that he knew not the man. Immedi- 
ately the cock crew, and Peter, re- 
membering the words of Jesus, wept 
bitterly. 



CHAPTER XXVII 



I. When the morning of the exe- 
cution arrived, they bound and deli- 
vered him over to Pontius Pilate, the 
Governor of Judea. But, as soon as 
Judas, who had betrayed him, found 
that he was condemned to die, he re- 
pented, and brought back the thirty 
pieces of silver, saying, I have sinned 
in having betrayed innocent blood. 
But the Chief Priests and Scribes 
said, What is that to us ? look to it 
yourself. He was, however, so much 
concerned at his conduct that he 
went out and hanged himself. 

6. The Chief Priests said, It is not 
lawful to put this money in the trea- 
sury. They, therefore, purchased a 
potter's field as a burial-place, for 
strangers. 

II. When Jesus was interrogated 
by the Governor, he made no reply, 
at which Pilate marvelled. It was 
the custom among the Jews, at this 



470 



MATTHEW. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD == REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
feast, to release a prisoner. Pilate 
then asked them, Whom will you that 
I release ? Barabbas, or Jesus, who 
is called Christ ? The multitude 
then cried out, Release Barabbas, 
and crucify Jesus. Pilate remonstra- 
ted with the people, saying, What 
evil hath he done ? But they cried 
out the more — Crucify him ! 

24. Pilate, finding he could not 
prevail with them, took water and 
washed his hands, saying, I am inno- 
cent of the blood of this just person. 
He then delivered Barabbas to them : 
and, when Jesus was scourged, he 
delivered him over to be crucified. 

27. The soldiers took Jesus and 
put on him a scarlet robe, platted a 
crown of thorns and placed it on his 
head, and put a reed in his right hand. 
They then derided him, and mocked 
him, calling him the King of the 
Jews. 

After seriously maltreating and re- 
viling him, they led him away and 
crucified him. And over his head 
they placed this inscription: " This 
is Jesus, the King of the Jews." 
The people passing by reviled him, 
saying, If you are the son of God, 
come down from the cross ! The 
Chief Priests and Scribes also mocked 
him, saying, He that saved others 
cannot save himself. 

44. The two thieves who were 
crucified with him also mocked him. 
Jesus at length yielded up the ghost. 
At this moment there was a great 
earthquake : the rocks were rent, 
and the vail of the temple was rent 
in twain. 

57. In the evening of the same 
day, a rich man of Arimathea, named 
Joseph, who was a disciple of Jesus, 
came and begged the body, which Pi- 
late ordered to be delivered to him. 
Joseph took the body and placed it 
, in a new tomb, which was hewn out 



MATTHEW. 



471 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heaven!?/. 



19. Teach in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
of a rock, and placed a great stone 
before the sepulchre. 

61. They set a watch over the tomb, 
because he said, In three days I shall 
be raised from the dead, and we shall 
then prevent his disciples from steal- 
ing away the body by night, and 
saying he has risen from the dead. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

I. In the evening of the Sabbath, 
Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mo- 
ther of Jesus, came to the sepulchre, 
and saw where Jesus had lain, for they 
said he was risen from the dead, and 
he goeth before you into Galilee, there 
you shall see him. And, as they went 
to tell his disciples, Jesus met them, 
saying, All hail : then Jesus said, Be 
not afraid. 

II. Some of the watch went into 
Jerusalem, and told the Chief Priests 
and Scribes what had been done : and 
they bribed the soldiers to say, that 
the disciples had come by night and 
stolen away the body while th ey slept ; 
and this is commonly reported among 
the Jews until this day. 

16. Then the eleven disciples went 
away into Galilee, into a mountain, 
where Jesus had appointed to meet 
them. And they worshipped him, 
but some of them doubted. 

19. Jesus then said to them, Go and 
preach this doctrine to all nations, 
baptising them. 



Cfje Gospel according to &t #£ark. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY. 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



The "Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



Material, or Earthly. 



CHAPTER I. 



4. Baptism of repentance for the 
remission of sins. 



"7. Baptise you with the "Holy 
Ghost," that is, awaken your Con- 
science to acknowledge the " Moral 
Law " seated in your own Reason. 



12. "Tempted of Satan" implies 
that the force of the inclinations which 
arise from Sense require every effort 
of Reason to suhdue these satanic 
desires, the possibility of which was 
evinced by the Saviour. 

15. The kingdom of God is at 
hand — repent ye, and believe the 
Gospel. As no individual while on 



1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, as 
it is written in the prophets. 

4. John did baptise in the wilder- 
ness and preach, and many went 
from Judea and Jerusalem and were 
baptised by him. He was clothed 
with camel's hair, and wore a girdle 
of skin about his loins ; his food was 
locusts and wild honey. 

"7. John said: I, indeed, baptise 
with water; but there cometh one 
after me who is mightier, and who 
wil baptise you with the Holy Ghost. 

9. Shortly after this, Jesus came 
from Nazareth, in Galilee, and was 
baptised by John in the river Jordan ; 
and, when Jesus came out of the wa- 
ter, John saw the spirit descend upon 
Jesus, as a dove from the sky, and 
heard a voice saying : Thou art my 
beloved son, in whom I am well 
pleased. 

12. The Spirit drove Jesus into the 
wilderness, where he remained forty 
days, and was tempted by Satan. 
After this, John was put in prison, 
and Jesus went into Galilee preach- 
ing the Gospel of the kingdom of 
God. 

16. As Jesus was walking by the 
sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and 



MARK. 



473 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
earth can be perfectly pure — because 
he consists of matter, which is cor- 
ruptible, and is in Time — there is 
always room to repent for our trans- 
gressions in having indulged the in- 
clinations of Sense, contrary to the 
strict commandment of the Moral 
Law, seated in Practical Reason, 
which is now and ever will be in the 
pure abode of Eternity. To repent, 
therefore, is to suppress these unruly 
desires of the flesh, and on all occa- 
sions evince the supremacy of Reason 
over Sense. 



The Word Of MAN == SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Andrew, his brother, casting a net 
into the sea, for they were fisher- 
men ; and he said, Come after me, 
and I will make you fishers of men. 
They followed him. When he had 
gone a little farther, he saw James, 
the son of Zebedee, and John his bro- 
ther, who were in the ship mending 
their nets ; they left their father in 
the ship, with hired servants, and 
went after him. 

21. They went into Capernaum, 
and he taught in the synagogue, on 
the sabbath. And they were asto- 
nished at his doctrine. 

23. There was a man in the syna- 
gogue with an unclean spirit, and Je- 
sus commanded him to come out of 
him, which he did. And they were 
all amazed, saying, What new doc- 
trine is this? even unclean spirits 
obey him. And his fame spread 
throughout all the region of Galilee. 

29. When they had come to the 
house of Simon and Andrew, with 
James and John, they found Simon's 
wife's mother sick of a fever. Jesus 
took her by the hand, and the fever 
left her. He also healed many that 
were sick of divers diseases, and cast 
out many devils. He then retired to 
a solitary place and prayed. 

36. Simon and those that were 
with him followed him, and told him 
that every body sought him : but Je- 
sus said, Let us go into other towns 
and teach there. And he preached 
in the synagogues throughout Gali- 
lee. 

40. Then a man with a leprosy 
came to him and beseeehed him to 
cure him : Jesus put forth his hand, 
and the man was healed. He charged 
the man to show himself to the High 
Priest, and act according to law ; 
but the fame of this act was rumoured 
abroad, so that Jesus could no longer 
teach openly in the city. He, there- 



474 



MARK. 



DOCTRINE, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



HISTORY, 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
fore, retired to a desert place, where 
multitudes came to hear him. 



CHAPTER II. 



1, Shortly afterwards, Jesus went 
to Capernaum : when it was known 
that he was in the house, more per- 
sons came to him than the house 
could contain, and he preached the 
Gospel to them. They then brought 
to him a man sick of the palsy ; but, 
as they could not enter at the door, 
they unroofed the house, and let 
down the bed with the sick man. 

5. Jesus said unto the sick man, 
Thy sins are forgiven thee. The 
Scribes, who were present, said : 
This man speaks blasphemies, for 
God only can forgive sins. But, when 
Jesus perceived that they reasoned 
thus, he said : Is it easier to say to 
the sick man, thy sins are forgiven 
thee, or, arise, take up thy bed, and 
walk ; for the Son of Man hath 
power on earth to forgive sins. The 
sick man was healed, at which they 
all marvelled. 

13. He then went to the sea-side, 
and taught the multitude. On his 
way thither, he saw Levi, the son of 
Alphseus, sitting at the receipt of 
customs: he said to him, Follow me, 
and he did. 

16. The Scribes and Pharisees, 
seeing him eat and drink with publi- 
cans and sinners, said to his disciples, 
How is this ? but, when Jesus heard 
it, he said, I come not to call the 
righteous, but sinners, to repentance. 

18. The disciples of John and the 
Pharisees used to fast ; but the 
disciples of Jesus did not. Jesus 
explained this by saying, They need 
not fast while I am with them. 

23. As Jesus and his disciples 
went through the corn-fields, on the 
sabbath-day, they plucked the ears 
and ate. The Pharisees said to him, 



MARK. 



475 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Why do ye that on the sabbath which 
is not lawful ? He replied, Have ye 
never read what David did, when he 
and those that were with him were 
hungry — that they ate the show- 
bread in the house of God, which 
was not lawful? 



CHA.PTER IIL 



1. Jesus taught again in the syna- 
gogue, and there was a man with a 
withered hand. Now they watched 
him, whether he would heal him on 
the sabbath, in order that they might 
accuse him. But Jesus said to them , 
Is it lawful to do good or evil on the 
sabbath ? 

5. He then said to the man, Stretch 
forth thine hand, and his hand was 
restored like the other. Upon which 
the Pharisees took counsel how they 
might destroy him ; but Jesus with- 
drew to the sea, and a great multi- 
tude, from Galilee, and Judea, and 
the neighbourhood, followed him. 

9. Jesus desired his disciples to 
procure a small ship, as the throng 
was so great. Then he went up into 
a mountain , and took twelve disciples 
with him, that he might send them 
forth to preach, and to have power 
to heal. 

The following are the names of 
the twelve Apostles. 

1. Simon, surnamed Peter. 

2. James, the son of Zebedee. 

3. John, the brother of James. 

4. Andrew. 

5. Philip. 

6. Bartholomew. 

7. Matthew. 

8. Thomas. 

9. James, the son of Alphaeus. 

10. Thaddaeus. 

11. Simon, the Canaanite. 

12. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed 
Christ. 

22. The Scribes came down from 



476 



MARK. 



DOCTRINE, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

Jerusalem, and said, He hath Beelze- 
bub, for he casts out devils by the 
prince of devils. But he said unto 
them, How can Satan cast out Satan ? 
He then spake many parables in ex- 
24. A kingdom divided against planation. 
itself cannot stand. 31. His mother and his brethren 

35. Whosoever does the will of then came and called him, but Jesus 
God is my brother, my sister, and said, Who is my mother, or my 
my mother. brethren ? 

CHAPTER IV. 

1 . He began again to teach by the 
sea-side, but the multitude was so 
great, that he entered into a ship, 
while the people were on land. He 
taught them many things in parables. 

14. Christ explains the parable of 
the sower to his Apostles thus : The 
sower soweth the word of God, but 
Satan cometh and taketh away the 
word that was sown in men's hearts ; 
that is, the cares, deceitfulness, and 
riches, of this world choke the word, 
and it becomes unfruitful. And in 
this manner did Christ expound all 
his doctrines. 

35. In the evening of the same 
day, he went into a ship, to go to the 
other side; and, while he was asleep, 
a great storm arose, so that those in 
the ship were in great danger : and 
they awoke Jesus, and he instantly 
rebuked the wind, and there was a 
great calm. 



3. The parable of the sower im- 
plies that good principles, being 
cultivated in a good heart, bring forth 
abundantly good actions ; but, on the 
contrary, good principles are thrown 
away upon a bad heart, and, as man 
improves or neglects his soul, so shall 
he be rewarded or punished in the 
world to come. In this way, this 
sublime doctrine is levelled to the 
meanest capacity. The "Word of 
God " implies the laws of pure Rea- 
son ; and the inclinations of Sense 
are signified under Satan, which is 
the impurity of humanity, or the 
" Word of Man." All the other 
parables have a similar tendency. 



CHAPTER V. 

1. When Christ came out of the 
ship, on the other side of the sea, in 
the country of the Gadarenes,a man 
out of the tombs met him, having an 
unclean spirit, which tormented him 
much. But, when he saw Jesus afar 
off, he ran and worshipped him. 
Christ healed the man, and sent the 
unclean spirit, with others of his 
kind, into a herd of swine, who ran 
violently down a steep place into the 
sea, and were choked. 



MARK, 



477 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



The "Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

20. When the man was restored 
to his right mind, he went to Deca- 
polis, and published his remarkable 
cure. Jesus then returned across 
the sea, and, when many people were 
gathered around him, Jairus,a ruler 
of the synagogue, fell at his feet, 
saying, My daughter is at the point 
of death ; pray come and lay thy hands 
on her, and she shall live. Jesus 
went with him, and was followed by 
many persons. On his way, he was 
informed that the damsel was dead. 
But Christ said, Be not afraid, only 
believe. He took with him only 
Peter, James, and John, and, taking 
the damsel by the hand, he said unto 
her, Arise ! and she arose and walked 
about. 

25. As Jesus was proceeding to 
the house, there was a woman in the 
crowd who had been afflicted with an 
issue of blood for twelve years, which 
could not be cured. Hearing of the 
fame of Jesus, she said, If I can but 
touch the hem of his garment I shall 
be healed ; and she immediately be- 
came whole. 

CHAPTER VI. 

1 . Jesus now went into his own 
country with his disciples, and, on 
the sabbath, he taught in the syna- 
gogues, at which the people were 
astonished, and said : Is not this the 
carpenter, whose mother is Mary, 
and whose brothers are James, Joses, 
Juda, and Simon? and are not his 
sisters here with us ? 

4. But Jesus said, A man is no 
prophet in his own country, or in his 
own house, for there he could do no 
mighty work but heal a few sick 
folks. 

6. He, therefore, went about the 
villages teaching, and sent his disci- 
ples two by two, with power over 
unclean spirits, to teach, telling them 
x 2 



478 



MARK, 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



12. Repent ye ! 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE. 

Material, or Earthly. 
to provide nothing for their journey 
but a staff, neither bread nor money. 
In those cities where you are not well 
received, when you depart, shake off 
the dust from your feet in testimony 
against them. 

13. They cast out many devils, 
and healed many sick persons by 
anointing them with oil. 

14. And when King Herod heard 
of the fame of Jesus, he said, It i& 
John the Baptist who is raised from 
the dead, the same whom I beheaded. 
But Herod was enraged against John, 
because he said it was unlawful for 
him to marry Herodias, who was his 
brother Philip's wife, and, on this 
account, he sought to kill him. 

21. Herod, on his birthday, made 
a great feast, at which the daughter 
of Herodias so delighted the king 
that he bound himself by an oath to 
grant her whatever she might ask. 
By the direction of her mother, she 
asked for the head of John the Bap- 
tist. The king immediately sent an 
executioner to the prison, and com- 
manded that John's head be brought 
in a charger, and presented to the 
damsel, who gave it to her mother. 

29. When the disciples heard of it, 
they took his corpse and laid it in a 
tomb. 

32. Jesus and his apostles de- 
parted privately by ship into a desert 
place, that they might commune 
together. But the people seeing 
them depart ran on foot and over- 
took them. So that when Jesus- 
landed he found a great multitude, 
and was moved with compassion 
towards them, for they were as sheep 
without a shepherd, and he taught 
them many things. 

35. The day being far spent, his 
disciples came to him and said, Send 
them home ; as this is a desert place, 
we cannot provide for them. But 



MARK. 



479 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Jesus said, Give ye them to eat. He 
then inquired what provision they 
had, and they replied, Five loaves 
and two fishes. He then commanded 
them to sit down on the grass ; and, 
having hlessedthe loaves and fishes, 
he gave them to his disciples to dis- 
tribute to the multitude, and they did 
eat and were satisfied. The number 
of persons were about five thousand, 
and, after the repast, they took up 
twelve baskets of fragments. 

46. And, when he had dispersed 
the multitude, he went into a moun- 
tain to pray. In the evening, Jesus 
saw from the land the ship in the 
middle of the sea, and they were 
toiling in rowing, for the wind was 
contrary. About the fourth watch of 
the night, Jesus walked upon the sea, 
and would have passed them ; put 
they supposed it to be a spirit, and 
cried out. Jesus immediately talked 
with them and said : Be of good cheer, 
it is I ; be not afraid. He then went 
into the ship, and the wind ceased. 

53. And when they were come to 
Genesareth, they brought those that 
were sick to be healed. And in the 
different villages and cities they laid 
the sick in the streets, and those 
that touched only the border of his 
garment were made whole. 



CHAPTER VII. 



15. Not that which goeth into the 
mouth defileth a man, but that which 
oometh out of his mouth, namely, 
Deceit. 

21. What proceedeth from within 
comes from the heart, namely, evil 
thoughts: hence result adulteries, 
fornications, murders, thefts, cove- 
tousness, wickedness, deceit, lasci- 
viousness, blasphemy, pride, fool- 



1. Then some Scribes and Phari- 
sees came from Jerusalem, and, when 
they saw Christ's disciples eat bread 
with unwashed hands, they found 
fault ; for, according to the traditions 
of the elders, the Jews must not eat 
unless they wash their hands and 
their household utensils. Christ re- 
plied, Ye hypocrites, you honour me 
with your lips, but your heart is far 
from me: you substitute the tradi- 
tions of men for the commandments, 
of God. 



480 



MARE. 



DOCTRINE^ 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
ishness ; all these evils defile a man. 
Ye honour God with your lips, but 
your heart is far from him. Ye sub- 
stitute the "Word of Man" for 
the " Word of God," 



The Word Of MAN =. SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 

24. Jesus then arose, and went into 
a house in the neighbourhood of Tyre 
and Sidon, wherehe desired to remain 
private. But his fame was such that 
it was soon known ; and a woman,who 
had a child afflicted with an evil spirit, 
came to him, and besought him to cast 
out the devil from her daughter. 

27. Jesus said to the woman, Let 
the children first be filled, for we 
should not take the children's bread 
and give it to the dogs. True, Lord, 
replied the woman, yet the dogs eat 
the children's crumbs. Christ then 
said, For this saying the devil is gone 
out of thy daughter. And when she 
got home, she found her daughter 
cured, and lying on the bed. 

31. When Jesus left Tyre and 
Sidon, he went to Decapolis, where 
a man, who was deaf and had an im- 
pediment in his speech, was brought 
to him; he put his fingers into his 
ears , and spit, and touched his tongue, 
and the deaf man became immedi- 
ately healed. He charged them to 
tell no one, but the more he charged 
them the more they spread his fame. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

1. Jesus took compassion on the 
multitude, who had been with him 
three days without any thing to eat. 
He asked his disciples what provision 
they had, and they said, We have 
seven loaves and a few small fishes. 
Christ commanded the multitude, 
amounting to about four thousand, 
to sit down on the ground: he then 
distributed the loaves and fishes to 
his disciples, and they gave them to 
the people, who ate till they were all 
satisfied. After the meal was ended, 
they took up seven baskets of frag- 
ments. He then sent them away. 

10. Jesus now entered a ship with 

his disciples, bnt they had forgotten 

I to take bread for the voyage, having 



MAR] 



481 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Material, or Earthly. 
only one loaf. But Jesus overheard 
them talking on the subject, and said, 
Will you never understand ? are your 
hearts yet hardened ? — Do ye not re- 
member when I distributed the five 
loaves to the five thousand, how many 
baskets of fragments were taken up ? 
— They replied, Twelve. And when 
the seven loaves were distributed to 
the four thousand ? — and they said, 
Seven. How is it then that you do 
not understand ? 

22. When Christ was come to Beth- 
saida, a blind man was brought to 
him to be cured. He spit on his eyes, 
and asked him if he saw. He said, The 
men appear like trees walking. Christ 
then put his hands upon his eyes, 
and he was restored to sight. 

27. As Jesus and his disciples were 
on their way to Csesarea Philippi, he 
asked his disciples who the people 
thought he was. They told him John 
the Baptist, but some said he was 
Elias, and others that he was one of 
the prophets. Christ then said, Who 
do you think I am? Peter replied, 
Thou art the Christ. He then charged 
them to tell no one. 

31. Jesus now told his disciples 

that he must suffer much on account 

of the doctrines he taught ; nay, 

35. It is wrong to think more of even death! But Peter rebuked him. 



this world than of the next. 

36. What does it profit a man to 
gain the whole world, if he loses his 
own soul? Or what shall a man give 
in exchange for his soul ? 



Christ then turned to his disciples, 
and said to Peter, Get thee behind 
me, Satan, for you are more eager 
after the things of men than the 
things of God. 



CHAPTER IX. 

1. Six days after this, Jesus wenl 
into a high mountain, and took with 
him Peter, James, and John, and was 
transfigured before them. Peter said 
to Jesus, Master, is it good for us to 
be here? And, while he was speaking, 
a cloud overshadowed them, and a 
voice out of the cloud said, This is 



482 



MARK. 



DOCTRINE. 



HISTORY, 



The "Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



41. He that doeth the will of God 
shall be rewarded hereafter. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, Qr Earthly. 
my beloved son, hear him. The dis- 
ciples were frightened; but, when they 
looked round, they saw only Jesus 
with themselves, who charged them 
to tell no one what they had seen. 

17. When they had descended from 
the mountain, a man brought his son 
to Jesus to be cured, saying, He hath 
a dumb spirit, whom the disciples 
have not been able to cure. Jesus 
then asked, How long is it that the 
child has been thus afflicted ? From 
a child, was the reply. Jesus rebuked 
the foul spirit, saying, I charge thee 
come out of him, and the man's son 
was immediately cured. But Jesus 
desired that no man should know it. 

30. On their way through Galilee, 
Jesus taught his disciples, and told 
them that he should be delivered into 
the hands of men who would kill him , 
but that, on the third day, he should 
rise again from the dead. They, how- 
ever, understood him not; and yet 
were afraid to ask. When they were 
at a house in Capernaum, he inquired 
the nature of their conversation on 
the way. Finding that they had dis- 
puted among themselves which of 
them should be the greatest, he called 
the twelve to him and said : If any 
man desire to be first, the same shall 
be last and servant of all. He then 
took a little child, and placed him in 
the midst of them, saying, Whoso- 
ever showeth the least kindness to 
one of such children not only respects 
me but reverences him that sent me. 

38. John said to Jesus: Master, 
we saw one casting out devils in thy 
name, and we forbade him, because 
he did not follow us. But Jesus re- 
plied, Forbid him not, for he that is 
not against is for us. 



CHAPTER X. 

1 . When Jesus had come into Judea , 
on the other side of the Jordan, the 



MARK, 



483 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



17. The Doctrine is pure spirit, 
or goodness, that is, Reason; but 
the Man Christ, being matter, as 
humanity, is subject to the inclina- 
tions which reside in Sense. Hence 
no one is good but God, the Author 
of Reason. 



23. Whatever sufferings we may 
experience in this sublunary world of 
trial, yet we are sure of our reward in 
the world to come, provided we strictly 
obey the dictates of the ' 'Mor a l Law" 
— that is, on all occasions subject the 
demesoi Sense to the pure, spiritual 
laws of Reason. 



The 'Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly, 
people came to him as usual to be 
taught by him; and certain Pharisees, 
with a view to entrap him, asked him 
if it was lawful for a man to put away 
his wife. He replied, saying, What 
did Moses command you? They said 
Moses suffered divorcement. Jesus 
said he did this on account of the 
hardness of your hearts ; but man 
and wife are one flesh, and what God 
hath joined together let not man put 
asunder. 

13. They then brought young 
children to him that he might touch 
them, but his disciples rebuked them, 
at which Jesus was much displeased, 
saying, Suffer the little children to 
come unto me, and forbid them not ; 
of such is the kingdom of heaven. 

17. As they proceeded on their 
way, a man came running to him, and 
kneeled down, saying: Good Master, 
what shall I do to inherit eternal 
life? Jesus then said: Why do you 
call me good ? there is none good but 
one, and that is God. But, in order 
to inherit eternal life, you must keep 
God's commandments. The man re- 
plied : All these I have observed 
from my youth. Yet one thing you 
lack. Go sell what you have, and 
give to the poor; then shall you have 
treasure in heaven. The man, how- 
ever, departed sorely grieved, for he 
had large possessions. 

23. Jesus then told his disciples 
how hard it was for those who are 
devoted to the pleasures and riches of 
this world to prepare themselves to 
enter the kingdom of heaven. Who, 
then, can be saved? asked his dis- 
ciples. Jesus told them that every 
one who had left his house, brethren, 
and lands, for the sake of the Gos- 
pel, though he was persecuted here, 
should be rewarded a hundred-fold 
hereafter. 

, 32. On their way to Jerusalem, 
x 5 



484 



MARK. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The "Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Jesus told the twelve what things 
would happen to him ; that he should 
be delivered up to the Chief Priests 
and Scribes, and be condemned to 
death, mocked, derided, and reviled, 
and that, on the third day, he should 
rise again. Now James and John, 
the sons of Zebedee, asked to be per- 
mitted to sit one on the right hand 
and the other on the left, when 
Christ should be in all his glory. But 
Jesus said to them, You know not 
what you ask, nor is it mine to give. 
It will be given to them for whom it 
is prepared. 

46. As Jesus and his disciples left 
Jericho, a great crowd followed them, 
and on their way they met Barti- 
maeus, the son of Timaeus, who was 
blind; he sat begging in the high- 
way. When he heard that Jesus 
of Nazareth was passing by, he be- 
seeched him to restore his sight, for 
he knew he had the power. Jesus 
then called him, and said to him : 
Go thy way, thy faith hath made 
thee whole. The blind man immedi- 
ately recovered his sight, and followed 
Jesus. 



CHAPTER XI. 



1. On their way to Jerusalem, 
when they had arrived at the Mount 
of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 
to a neighbouring village, to fetch a 
colt, on which no one had ever ridden, 
that was tied fast there, saying, If 
any one interrupt you, tell him that 
Christ has need of him. They brought 
the colt to Jesus, cast their garments 
on him, and he sat on him. In this 
way, Jesus entered Jerusalem, the 
people, strewing the way with their 
garments and branches of trees. 

12. On the morrow, as they were 

coming from Bethany, Jesus was 

hungry. But, seeing a fig-tree afar 

( off, he hoped he might find on it 



MARK. 



4S5 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



22. " Have faith in God." It con- 
sists in the conviction that the laws of 
Reason are almighty in suppressing 
the carnal desires of Sense. 



25. When ye pray, forgive every 
one. that your father in heaven may 
forgive you : for if you do not forgive, 
neither shall you beforgiven. Reason 
commands us to forgive our enemies, 
or the first law of Reason would be 
nugatory — " our own perfection and 
the happiness of others:" nor can 
this obligation be reversed. It is 
impossible for any other person to 
rlo that which must be done by our- 
selves — perfect ourselves. To pro- 
duce misery instead of happiness to 
others is to pervert the first law of 
Reason for some selfish gratification 
of Sense. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
some figs: he, however, found nothing 
but leaves, for the time of figs was 
not yet come. Jesus then said, So 
shall no man eat fruit of thee here- 
after, and it withered. The disciples 
were astonished, but Jesus said, If 
you have faith in God, yon shall have 
power to do more than this. 

15. At Jerusalem he went into the 
temple, cast out those who bought 
and sold, overthrew the tables of the 
money-changers, and the seats of 
those who sold doves. Here he taught, 
saying, Is it not written that this 
house shall be a house of prayer, and 
you have made it a den of thieves ? 
But the Scribes and Chief Priests 
sought how they should destroy him, 
because the people admired his doc- 
trine. 

27. As Jesus was walking in the 
temple, the Chief Priests, Scribes, 
and Pharisees, asked him by what 
authority he did all these things. 
Jesus said to them, If you will answer 
me one question, I will tell you by 
what authority I act. Is the doctrine 
of the baptism of John from heaven 
or of men? This question reduced 
them to this dilemma : If we say 
from heaven, he will say, why then 
do you not believe ? and, if we say of 
men, the people will revolt, for they 
consider John to be a prophet. They 
said in reply, We cannot tell. Neither 
will I tell you by what authority I do 
these things. 



CHAPTER XII. 

1. Now Jesus spake to them this 
parable, saying, A certain man 
planted a vineyard, and let it out to 
husbandmen, and went into a far 
country. At the proper time, he sent 
his servant for the fruits of the vine- 
yard ; but they beat him and sent 
him away empty. He then sent 
, another servant, and they treated 



486 



MARK. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY,, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



25. " In heaven they neither marry 
nor are given in marriage, but are 
angels." Things in Eternity differ 
essentially from things in Time. In 
the same manner, the laws of matter 
are incongruous with the laws of 
spirit ; neither are the laws of this 
world adapted to the angels of the 
world to come, nor do the laws of 
Sense harmonise with the laws of 
Reason. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
him worse ; they threw stones at him 
and wounded him ; and he again sent 
another servant, but they killed him. 
He then sent his well-beloved son, 
saying, They will sorely reverence 
him, but the husbandmen said, This 
is his heir, we will kill him, and the 
inheritance will be ours. They actu- 
ally killed him, and threw him out 
of the vineyard. Now what should 
the lord of the vineyard do? He 
should destroy the husbandmen, and 
give the vineyard to others. 

13. Certain of the Pharisees were 
sent to Jesus to try to ensnare him. 
and they asked him if it was lawful to 
give tribute unto Csesar : but Christ, 
knowing their intention, said, Bring 
me a penny : he then asked them 
whose image and superscription was 
on it, and they replied Caesar's. Jesus 
then said to them: Render to Caesar 
the things that are Caesar's, and to 
God the things that are God's. 

18. Then the Sadducees came to 
him, and endeavoured to puzzle him 
regarding the resurrection, saying, 
Master, Moses has written that if 
a man's brother dies before his wife, 
and leaves no issue, his brother 
should marry the widow to raise up 
children. Now there was a certain 
man who died childless, and his 
brother married the wife of the 
deceased, and he also died without 
issue, and the next brother married 
her, and so on for seven brothers. 
We wish to know, in the case of 
resurrection, whose wife she would 
be accounted ? Jesus retorted upon 
them, saying, You do not understand 
the Scriptures; for, in the other 
world, they neither marry, nor are 
given in marriage, but are as the 
angels which are in heaven. 

27. One of the Scribes then asked 
him which was the first command- 
ment of all. In reply, Jesus gave 



MARK, 



4S7 



DOCTRINE,, 



HISTORY. 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
29. The Lord our God is one Lord. 
Thou shalt love God with ail thy 
heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
all thy mind, and with all thy strength ; 
and thou shalt love thy neighbour as 
thyself. On all occasions, not only 
acknowledge the supremacy of the 
" Moral Law " planted in your 
Reason by the eternal and omnipo- 
tent God, but suppress every desire 
that this supreme law forbids the 
indulgence of, and you will at the 
same time repress all the irregular 
desires of Sense, and evince the most 
perfect, pure, and spiritual love for 
your Heavenly Father. 



The "Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
them the doctrine, as on the other 
side. And the Scribe said to him: 
Well, Master, thou hast said the 
truth, for there is but one God, and 
to love him with all thy heart and 
thy neighbour as thyself is far better 
than all the burnt offerings and sacri- 
fices. Afterthisno one dared question 
him. 

36. While Jesus was teaching in 
the temple his new doctrine, he said, 
Beware of the Scribes, who love 
pomp and show, and make long 
prayers for a pretence. Many now 
cast money into the treasury; but 
there came a poor widow, who threw 
in two mites, which are equal to one 
farthing; and Jesus said, This trifle 
is of more worth than all that has 
been cast into the treasury, for they 
gave of their abundance, but she has 
given her all. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



32. Be ever prepared to enter into 
the kingdom of eternity, for you 
know not when your hour will come. 
Heaven and earth shall pass away, 
but the Doctrine, which is the prin- 
ciple of Reason, being out of Time 
and Space, and residing wholly in 
Eternity, never can. 



1. When Jesus was sitting on the 
Mount of Olives, conversing with 
Peter, James, John, and Andrew, he 
foretold many things that were to 
happen, and desired them to take 
heed for themselves, as they would be 
persecuted for preaching the Gospel 
among the nations. 

22. At that time, many false pro- 
phets and false Christs shall arise, 
and show signs and wonders to seduce 
the people ; but I caution you to re- 
collect what I have told you, and put 
no faith in them. Heaven and earth 
shall pass away, but my doctrine shall 
not pass away. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

1. As the feast of the Passover 
was near, the Chief Priests and 
Scribes sought how they might take 
Jesus by craft and put him to death. 
They deliberated among themselves, 
saying, If we seize him on the day 



488 



MARK. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



23. " This is the New Testament." 
The "Old Testament" implies the 
Books of Moses, which do not suffi- 
ciently unfold the views of the Cre- 
ator. The Christian dispensation so 
thoroughly and completely develops 
the natureof " Practical Reason," 
with all its perfectly pure and divine 
laws — which are a sure guide to the 
eternal Kingdom of Heaven— so as 
to leave nothing more to be required 
by man for the salvation of his soid. 
The more centuries elapse the more 
this truth will be confirmed, and the 
more scientifically this dispensation 
is treated the more satisfactory will 
be the Conviction of the truth of 
this ever-during "Divine Revela- 
tion." 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
of the feast, the people will make an 
uproar. 

3. While Jesus was in Bethany, 
at the house of Simon the leper, a 
woman came to Jesus to anoint him 
with a precious ointment. But some 
of the disciples said, Would it not be 
better to sell this ointment, and give 
the money to the poor? But Jesus 
said, Let the woman alone ; she hath 
done a good work, and, wheresover 
this Gospel is preached, this will be 
a testimony to her. 

10. Judas Iscariot, one of the 
twelve, went unto the Chief Priest3 
to betray him, and they agreed to 
give him money. 

12. The disciples now asked Jesus 
where he would eat the Passover; 
and he directed them to a house in 
the City, where they all met. And 
while they were at meat, Jesus said, 
One of you will betray me : they all 
became sorrowful, and inquired indi- 
vidually which it was. Jesus said, 
He that dippeth with me in the dish. 
Jesus then took the bread and the wine 
and blessed it, and gave it to his dis- 
ciples, saying: This is my body and 
my blood of the "New Testament,'" 
which is shed for many: and, when 
they had sung a hymn, they went to 
the Mount of Olives. 

27. Jesus then told them they 
would be offended with him because 
of his new doctrine, as it would in- 
volve them all in trouble. Peter 
said, Although all shall be offended, 
yet will not I. But Jesus said, Nay, 
even this very night, before the 
cook crows twice, thou shalt deny 
me thrice. Peter said more vehe- 
mently, If I should die with thee, I 
will not deny thee, to which they all 
assented. 

32. And when they had come to 
Gethsemane, he said to his disciples, 
Sit here, while I go and pray ; he 



MARK. 



489 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



37. Pray not to be led into temp- 
tation : the spirit is indeed pure, but 
the flesh is weak. 



The -Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
took with him Peter, James, and 
John, and said unto them, My soul 
is exceedingly heavy, remain here 
and watch. Jesus fell on the ground 
and prayed that the hour might pass 
from him. Father, all things are 
possible with thee — take away this 
cup — yet, nevertheless, not as I will, 
but as thou wilt. When he rose from 
prayer, he found his disciples asleep, 
and said to Simon Peter, Could not 
you watch for one hour ? He went a 
second time to pray ; and, on his 
return, he found them again asleep. 
After he had prayed the third time, 
he said to them, You may now sleep 
on, for I am betrayed into the hands 
of sinners. Let us now go, for he 
that betrayeth me is at hand. While 
Jesus was speaking, Judas, accom- 
panied by a great multitude, armed 
with swords and staves, from the 
Chief Priests and the Scribes, came 
and said, He that I shall kiss is he; 
take him and lead him away. One 
that stood near Christ drew his 
sword, and sti'uck a servant of the 
High Priest, and cut off his ear. 

48. Jesus said to them, You are 
come armed, as if you had come to 
take a thief. When I was daily 
teaching in the temple, you did not 
seize me : on this his disciples for- 
sook him and fled. They took Jesus, 
and led him to the High Priest, where 
were assembled the Chief Priests, 
and Elders, and Scribes. Peter fol- 
lowed them afar off, even to the 
palace of the High Priest, and mixed 
with the servants. 

55. The Chief Priests and all the 
Council sought for witnesses, in 
order to put him to death, but found 
none, for the false witnesses contra- 
dicted themselves. The High Priest 
then asked him if he was Christ, the 
Son of God, and Jesus said, I am. 
Then the High Priest said, We need 



490 



MARK. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 




The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
no further witness ; this blasphemy is 
enough : and they found him guilty of 
death. 

65. They now began to revile and 
ill use him, and the servants struck 
him. One of the maids of the High 
Priest came to the apartment where 
Peter was warming himself, and said 
to him, You were with Jesus of 
Nazareth: but he denied it, saying I 
neither know nor understand what 
you say, and immediately he went 
out into the porch, and the cock 
crew. He was accused a second 
time ; he still denied it. The third 
time he was accused, he began to 
curse and swear, saying, I know not 
the man of whom you speak. The 
second time the cock crew, he remem- 
bered the words of Christ, and wept . 
bitterly. 



CHAPTER XV. 



1. The next morning, the Chief 
Priests held a council, bound Jesus, 
and sent him away to Pilate, who 
asked him if he was the King of the 
Jews. He replied, Thou sayest it. 
Pilate asked him many things, but 
yet he answered nothing. 

6. At the feast of the Passover, 
it was customary to release a pri- 
soner, and there was one named 
Barabbas, who had committed mur- 
der. Now Pilate inquired of the 
multitude whether he should release 
the King of the Jews or Barabbas, 
but the people said. Release Barab- 
bas. Pilate then said, What shall I 
do to him whom you call the King of 
the Jews? and they cried out, Cru- 
cify him! Pilate said unto them, 
Why, what evil hath he done ? But 
they cried out the more, Crucify 
him ! Pilate, willing to quiet the 
people, released Barabbas ; and, when 
Jesus had been scourged, he deli- 
. vered him to be crucified. 



MARK. 



491 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The -Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 

46. The soldiers led him away, 
clothed him with purple, platted a 
crown of thorns and put it upon his 
head, saying, Hail, King of the Jews ! 
When they had mocked him, they 
took off the purple, and put on his 
own clothes, and led him out to 
crucify him. They compelled Simon, 
a Cyrenean, who was passing by, to 
bear the cross to Golgotha, and, 
when they had crucified him, they 
parted his garments, casting lots for 
them. It was the third hour when 
they crucified him. On the cross 
they placed this superscription, The 
King of the Jews. 

21. Two thieves were crucified 
with him, one on the right, and the 
other on the left, and, as the people 
passed by, they wagged their heads 
and reviled him, saying, He that 
saved others cannot save himself : 
let Christ, the King of Israel, descend 
from the cross, that we may see and 
believe. . And, when the sixth hour 
was come, there was darkness over 
all the land till the ninth hour. 

34. At the ninth hour, Jesus cried 
with a loud voice, saying, My God, 
my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? 
They then gave him vinegar to drink, 
and he gave up the ghost. The vail 
of the temple was rent in twain from 
the top to the bottom. 

40. Among the persons who were 
looking on, were Mary Magdalene, 
Mary, the mother of James, and 
many other women, who had come 
with him to Jerusalem. 

42. As the following day was the 
sabbath, Joseph, of Arimathea, beg- 
ged the body of Pilate in the evening. 
When Pilate found that Jesus was 
dead, he gave the body to Joseph, 
who was a councillor of note. He 
had the body taken down from tho 
cross, wrapped in fine linen, and 
deposited in a sepulchre, hewn out 



492 



MARK. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
of a rock, at the door of which a 
great stone was rolled. Mary Mag- 
dalene and Mary, the mother of 
Jesus, were present. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

1. When the sabbath was passed, 
Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the 
mother of James and Salome, 
brought sweet spices to anoint the 
body of Jesus. On their way, they 
were debating who should roll away 
the stone from the door of the se- 
pulchre ; but, to their surprise, the 
stone was removed. On entering the 
sepulchre, they saw a young man 
sitting there, who informed them 
that Jesus of Nazareth had risen, 
and showed them the place where he 
had lain. 

9. Now, on the first day of the 
week, when Jesus was risen, the first 
person he saw was Mary Magdalene, 
out of whom he had cast seven 
devils : but, when she said that Jesus 
was alive, they did not believe her. 
Afterward, Jesus appeared to two of 
them in another form as they were 
walking into the country : and, when 
they told this to the rest, neither 
would they believe it. 

14. When the eleven disciples 
were at meat, he appeared before 
them, and upbraided them with their 
a contingent credence given to the unbelief for doubting those who had 
facts of Sense, and which never can seen him. Jesus then commanded 
produce unanimity or scientific con- them to preach the Gospel to every 
viction. creature all over the world. 



16. He that believeth shall be 
saved : but woe to him that believeth 
not. This belief is faith; that is, a ne- 
cessary belief in Doctrine grounded 
in Reason, which commands assent 
from all reasonable creatures, in op- 
position to belief in History, which 



&fje Gospel accor&mg; to i?t. %ukt. 



DOCTRINE., HISTORY,, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

CHAPTER I. 

1. The account I am going to give 
you is such as was believed by those 
who were eye-witnesses of the tran- 
sactions here recorded. 

5. In the days of Herod, king of 
Judea, Zacharias, a priest, had a wife 
named Elizabeth, one of the daugh- 
ters of Aaron : they were excellent 
people, but, having no children, they 
were desirous of issue. An angel 
said to Zacharias, Thy wish is heard; 
thy wife shall bear thee a son, and 
thou shalt call his name John, who 
shall be a great man and filled with 
the Holy Ghost, even from his birth. 
Zacharias asked how he should know 
this, for both himself and wife were 
old. The angel replied, I am Ga- 
briel, and am sent to acquaint you 
with your good fortune. In token of 
my power, you shall be dumb, and 
not able to speak until these things 
come to pass. 

22. Now, when Zacharias came 
out of the temple, he could not speak, 
but only beckon to thorn, by which 
they perceived he had seen a vision. 
After this Elizabeth conceived, and, 
in due time, brought forth a son. 
On the eighth day, they came to cir- 
. cumcise the child, and called him 



494 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



68. Blessed is the Lord God, for 
he has redeemed his people from sin, 
and given them salvation; so that 
they may serve him with holiness 
and righteousness all the days of their 
lives. The Christian dispensation has 
redeemed the world from sin, by the 
enlightenment produced by the " Di- 
vine Revelation" which is confirmed 
to the absolute conviction of every 
man's Reason. Thus is the road to 
Salvation clearly pointed out, and 
consists in submitting all the carnal 
desires of Sense to the "Moral 
Law" of Reason. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Zacharias, after his father. Bat his 
mother said , Not so ; he shall be called 
John. They then made signs to his 
father as to what his name should 
be, on which he wrote on a tablet 
that his name should be John. His 
mouth then became immediately 
opened, and spoke in praise of God. 
This was soon rumoured all over 
Judea. Zacharias was filled with the 
Holy Ghost, and preached this doc- 
trine, and prophesied that John 
should give a foreknowledge of sal- 
vation, by remission of sin, and that 
he should instruct the ignorant in 
the ways of righteousness. And John 
remained in the wilderness and grew 
strong in spirit. 

26. In the sixth month of Eliza- 
beth's pregnancy, the angel Gabriel 
went to Nazareth, to a virgin of the 
name of Mary, who was espoused to 
a man named Joseph. The angel 
said to Mary, Hail, thou art highly 
favoured ; thou shalt conceive and 
bring forth a son, who shall be called 
Jesus. Then Mary said to the angel : 
How can this be, for I know not man ? 
to which the angel replied, The Holy 
Ghost shall come upon you, so that 
the child you bear shall be called the 
Son of God : nay, do not marvel, for 
thy cousin Elizabeth hath brought 
forth a son in her old age. Mary 
then went to Elizabeth at the house 
of Zacharias, and told her what had 
happened, and she rejoiced exceed- 
ingly, saying, Henceforth all genera- 
tions shall call me blessed ! Mary 
remained about three months with 
her cousin Elizabeth, and then re- 
turned home. 



CHAPTER II. 

1. When Cyrenius was governor 

of Syria, Augustus Caesar issued a 

mandate that every body should be 

, taxed. Now, every one was obliged 



LUKE. 



495 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY. 



The Word Of GOD = REASON; 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
to go into his own city to be taxed, 
which compelled Joseph to leave 
Nazareth, the city of his wife, and go 
to Bethlehem, where he was born. 
While Joseph and Mary remained at 
Bethlehem, Mary brought forth her 
first-born, wrapped him in swaddling 
clothes, and laid him in a manger, 
for the inn at which they resided was 
quite full. 

8. The angel went to the shep- 
herds, who were tending their flocks 
in the neighbourhood, and said to 
them, This day a Saviour is born to 
you. When the angel was gone, 
the shepherds went to Bethlehem to 
see if what the angel said was true : 
and they found Mary and Joseph 
there, and the babe lying in a man- 
ger, all which they made known 
abroad. 

21. On the eighth day, when the 
child was to be circumcised, they 
called his name Jesus ; and, according 
to the custom of the Jews, they 
brought the young child to Jerusa- 
lem, at the feast of purification, to 
offer sacrifice to the Lord. While 
they were in the temple, a man named 
Simeon took the child in his arms, 
and said, Lord, now let thy servant 
depart in peace, for I have seen thy 
salvation, for this child will be a 
light to enlighten the Gentiles. At 
the conclusion of the ceremony, they 
returned to their own city, Nazareth. 

40. The child grew strong in spirit 
and was filled with wisdom. They 
now regularly attended the feast of 
the Passover at Jerusalem ; and, 
when Jesus was twelve years old, on 
one of these occasions, he staid be- 
hind his parents, who had travelled 
one day's journey towards home be- 
fore they missed him. They turned 
back again to Jerusalem in search 
of him, and, after three days, they 
, found him in the temple, sitting in 



496 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE^ 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the midst of the doctors, hearing 
them and asking them questions. 

48. The mother said to her son, 
Why hast thou dealt with us thus ? 
it has occasioned great sorrow to 
your father and myself. But Jesus 
said, I was about my father's work. 
He then returned with his parents to 
Nazareth, and remained with them, 
increasing both in wisdom and sta- 
ture. 



CHAPTER III. 



3. The baptism of repentance for 
the remission of sins means — Bring 
forth fruits worthy of repentance, 
and you shall see the salvation of 
God: but woe unto those who ne- 
glect their duty to God and their 
neighbour ! 



1. In the fifteenth year of the reign 
of Tiberius Csesar, when Pontius 
Pilate was governor of Judea, and 
Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and 
his brother Philip was tetrarch of 
Itursea, and Annas and Caiaphas 
were High Priests, John, the son 
of Zacharias and Elizabeth, was 
preaching in the wilderness. 

15. As John preached such excel- 
lent doctrine, the people doubted 
whether he were Christ or not. But 
John explained to them that one 
mightier than himself would come 
and preach a more spiritual doctrine, 
and would baptise with the Holy 
Ghost. 

19. John censured Herod for mar- 
rying his brother Philip's wife, as 
well as for his other conduct; so that 
Herod put him in prison. 

21. When Jesus was baptised, the 
Holy Ghost descended upon him in 
a bodily shape like a dove, and a 
voice was heard, saying, Thou art my 
beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased. At the age of about thirty, 
Jesus was led by the spirit into the 
wilderness. 



CHAPTER IV. 

1. Being forty days in the wilder- 
ness , tempted by the devil, and , having 
eaten nothing, he became hungry. 
, And the devil said to him, If you are 



LUKE. 



497 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
4. Man shall not live by bread 
alone, but by the " Word of God." 



8. Thou shalt worship the Lord 
thy God, and him only shalt thou 
serve. 

12. Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
thy God. 



The Word Of MAN == SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the Son of God, command this stone 
to be made bread. 

5. The devil then took him into a 
high mountain and showed him all 
the kingdoms of the earth, saying, 
All these shall be thine, if thou wilt 
worship me. The devil then took 
him to Jerusalem, and set him on a 
pinnacle of the temple, and said, If 
you are the Son of God, cast your- 
self down. 

16. Jesus now went to Nazareth, 
where he was brought up, and, on 
the sabbath, he read in the synagogue 
out of the book of Esaias. " The 
spirit of the Lord is upon me, because 
he hath anointed me to preach the 
Gospel to tbe poor; to heal the bro- 
ken-hearted ; to preach deliverance 
to the captive ; to set at liberty those 
that are bound." He then shut the 
book and gave it to the minister, and 
all eyes were fixed upon him. 

22. The people wondered at the 
words which proceeded from him, 
and inquired if he was not the son 
of Joseph. 

31. Afterwards Jesus went down 
to Capernaum, in Galilee, and taught 
them on the sabbath days, and they 
were astonished at his doctrine. 

33. There was a man in the syna- 
gogue with an unclean spirit, and 
Jesus commanded him to come out 
of him, which he did : and they were 
all amazed, saying, What power and 
authority he hath over unclean spirits ! 
And his fame spread through all the 
neighbouring country. 

38. When he had come to the 
house of Simon, he found Simon's 
wife's mother was ill of a fever : Jesu9 
stood over her and the fever left her. 
They brought to him many who were 
diseased, and he cured them and cast 
out many devils. 

42. He then departed into a desert 
, place and prayed, but the people be- 



49S 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The "Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earlhly. 
sought him not to leave them. Jesus 
told them that he must preach the 
kingdom of God in other countries. 
And he preached in the synagogues 
of Galilee. 



CHAPTER V. 



1. When Jesus was teaching near 
the lake of Genesareth, the crowd 
• was very great, so that he entered 
the ship of Simon, and taught from 
thence. When he had done teaching, 
he said to Simon, Let down your net 
for a draught. But Simon said, We 
have toiled all night and caught no- 
thing; nevertheless, at your request, 
I will do it : and the net immediately 
inclosed a great multitude of fishes, 
so that the net broke, and they were 
obliged to get assistance from the 
other fishermen, and they filled both 
ships, so that they began to sink. 

8. When Simon Peter saw this, he 
was astonished, and fell down and 
worshipped Jesus, saying, I am indeed 
a sinful man. James and John, the 
sons of Zebedee, who were partners 
with Simon, were also astonished. 
But Jesus said, Fear not ; henceforth 
you shall catch men : and they all fol- 
lowed him. 

12. Afterthis.amanfullof leprosy, 
seeing Jesus, besought him to cure 
him. Christ put forth his hand, and 
the man immediately became clean. 
Jesus charged him to go to the priest 
and make the usual offering, but to 
tell no one of the cure ; yet his fame 
went the more abroad, and great 
multitudes came to hear and be cured 
by him. 

16. He then withdrew into the 
wilderness and prayed. Once, when 
Jesus was preaching, they brought a 
man sick of the palsy : he was lying 
in a bed, and they sought means to 
bring him, but, finding the crowd so 
( great, they let him down through the 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



499 



HISTORY, 



Tiie Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
tiling, in the midst of the people, be- 
fore Jesus, who, on seeing their faith , 
said to the man, Thy sins are for- 
given thee, and the man was imme- 
diately cured. But the Scribes and 
Pharisees, who were present, mar- 
velled, and Jesus, knowing their 
thoughts, said unto the sick man, 
Arise, takeup thy couch and go home. 
And immediately the sick man de- 
parted to his own house. 

27. After this, he saw a publican, 
named Levi, sitting at the receipt of 
the customs, and he said unto him, 
Follow me, which he did. Levi made 
a great feast at his own house, where 
Jesus was seated with a great com- 
pany of publicans. The Scribes and 
Pharisees remarked on this, and Je- 
£us replied, Those who are well have 
no need of a physician, but those who 
are sick. I come, not tocall the right- 
eous, but sinners, to repentance. 
And they asked Jesus why the disci- 
ples of John fasted often and prayed, 
whereas his own disciples did not fast : 
and he said, Would you have the 
guests fast when the bridegroom is 
with them ? 



CHAPTER VI. 



21. Blessed are those who weep, 
for they shall hereafter rejoice, and 
those who meet reproach for virtue's 
sake, for their reward in heaven will 
be great; and woe unto them that 
neglect their moral duties. 

27. Love your enemies, and do 
good to them who hate you. Bless 



1. As Christ and his disciples 
passed through the corn-fields on a 
sabbath-day,they plucked the ears and 
ate the corn. Some Pharisees, hear- 
ing of this, said, Why do you that 
which is unlawful on the sabbath? 
Jesus replied, Have you not read 
that David, when he was hungry, 
ate the showbread in the house of 
God, which is equally unlawful? 

6. On another sabbath, when Jesus 
was teaching in the synagogue, a 
man was there with a withered hand. 
The Pharisees took occasion to watch 
him, and to see if he would heal on the 
sabbath-day, in order that they might 
.accuse him. Jesus, knowing their 
y 



500 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
them that curse you, and pray for 
them that ill use you. 

29. To him who smites you on one 
cheek, offer also the other. 

31. As you would that men should 
do to you, do you also to them. 

32. If you merely love and do good 
to those who love and do good to you, 
there is no merit due to you, for this 
is acting merely from interested mo- 
tives. But love your enemies, and 
do good to others, without hoping 
for any thing in return, and great, 
indeed, shall be your reward here- 
after. 

36. Be merciful, as your heavenly 
father is merciful ; judge not, and you 
shall not be judged ; forgive, and you 
shall be forgiven. In the same pro- 
portion as you do good to others, 
will be your reward in heaven. 

41 . First correct the errors in your 
own conduct, before you find fault 
with others. 

45. The good man bringeth forth 
abundantly good works out of the 
treasure of his heart. 

48. The parable of the house built 
on a rock implies that, when virtuous 
principles are once firmly established 
in the heart of man, all the efforts 
of the wicked to seduce him are in 
vain, for his virtue is as firm as a 
rock. 



The 'Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
thoughts,said to the man , Stand forth , 
and stretch out your hand ; and his 
hand was instantly restored whole 
like the other. Jesus then said, An- 
swer me one thing : Is it lawful on 
sabbath-days to do good or evil ? to 
save life or to destroy it ? Jesus then 
went into a mountain, and continued 
all night in prayer. In the morning, 
he called his chosen twelve, whom he 
called his Apostles. The following 
are the names ? 

1. Simon, also called Peter. 

2. Andrew, the brother of Simon. 

3. James. 

4. John. 

5. Philip. 

6. Bartholomew. 

7. Matthew. 

8. Thomas. 

9. James, the son of Alphseus. 

10. Simon, called Zelotes. 

11. Juda, the brother of James. 

12. Judas, the brother of James. 
12. Judas Iscariot, who was also 

the traitor. 

1*1. Jesus, in company with the 
twelve, descended to the plain, where 
they were soon surrounded by a 
great multitude from Jerusalem and 
its neighbourhood, who came to hear 
him and to be cured of their diseases. 

20. Jesus then taught the multitude 
this doctrine. 



CHAPTER VII. 

1 . When Christ had ended all these 
sayings, he went to Capernaum ,where 
dwelt a centurion, whose servant was 
dying; and, when he heard that Jesus 
was come, he sent the elders of the 
Jews to him, to beseech him to come 
and cure the man. As they were 
proceeding to the centurion's house, 
they met some of his friends, who 
were sent to say he was not worthy 
that Jesus should enter his dwel- 
, ling, and that, if he would merely say 



LUKE. 



501 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The "Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the word, his servant would recover. 
Jesus then said to the people who 
followed him : I have not seen such 
faith any where. On their return 
home, they found the man healed. 

11. On the following day, Jesus 
went to the city of Nain, with his 
disciples, and was followed by many 
persons. As they approached the 
gate they beheld a dead man being 
carried out, and his mother in much 
grief, for he was her only son. When 
Jesus saw her, he had compassion on 
her, touched the bier, and the young 
man instantly rose up and began to 
speak ; and the rumour of his fame 
was spread throughout all Judea. 

19. At this time, John the Baptist 
sent two of his disciples to Christ to 
inquire if he was the expected Mes- 
siah, or if they were to look for ano- 
ther. Jesus said to them, Tell John 
what things you have heard and seen : 
how the blind see, the lame walk, 
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, 
the dead are raised, and the poor 
have the Gospel preached to them. 

24. When the messengers of John 
had departed, Jesus explained to the 
people the nature of John's mission 
— thathewassentbefore him to pre- 
pare the world to receive the Word 
of God. 

36. One of the Pharisees invited 
Jesus to his house ; and, while they 
were at meat, a woman came with a 
box of ointment, and requested per- 
mission to anoint the feet of Jesus. 
The Pharisee marvelled at this, and 
said to himself, If this man were a 
prophet, he would have known that 
this woman is a sinner. But Jesus 
explained that, where there was no 
sin, there required no forgiveness. 
And he said to the woman, Thy sins 
are forgiven thee. And those who 
sat at meat with him marvelled. 
y2 



502 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



5. The parable of the sower im- 
plies that good principles, being cul- 
tivated in a good heart, bring forth 
abundantly good actions ; but, on the 
contrary, good principles are thrown 
away upon a bad heart, and, as man 
improves or neglects his soul, so shall 
he be rewarded or punished in the- 
world to come. In this way, this 
sublime doctrine is levelled to the 
meanest capacity. All good principles 
spring from Reason, and are approved 
by the " Moral Law ; " but the incli- 
nations of Sense, indicated by the 
evil one, exert their influence to draw 
man from virtue, which consists in 
obeying the "Moral Law," out of 
pure reverence for its divinity. All 
the other parables have a similar ten- 
dency. 



Material, or Earthly. 
CHAPTER VIII. 

1. After this, Jesus, accompanied 
by the twelve, went to every city 
and village in the neighbourhood, 
preaching the glad tidings of the 
kingdom of God. He healed many 
women of infirmities, and cast out 
seven devils from Mary Magdalene. 
He then spake to them the parable 
of the sower, and explained to them 
that the seed meant the Word of God ; 
but the evil one, that is, the carnal de- 
sires, come and take away the word 
out of their hearts, lest they should 
believe and be saved. 

19. While Jesus was preaching to 
the multitude, he was told that his 
mother and brethren desired to see 
him, but they could not approach 
him on account of the crowd. He 
then said, That is my mother, and 
those are my brethren, who hear the 
Word of God and fulfil it. 

22. On a certain day, Jesus and 
his disciples went into a ship to cross 
the lake. Jesus fell asleep, and there 
came on a great storm, so that the 
ship was nearly filled with water. 
They then awoke him, and told him 
they should all perish. He then 
arose, rebuked the storm, and there 
became immediately a great calm. 
And they all marvelled, saying, What 
manner of man is this? 

26. When they had come to the 
country of theGadarenes, they were 
met by a certain man who had been 
long afflicted with devils, and resided 
among the tombs. Jesus commanded 
the unclean spirit to come cut of 
him. The devils besought Jesus that 
they might go into a herd of swine, 
which ran violently down a steep place 
into the lake, and were choked . And 
the man was restored to his right 
mind. 

37. And they returned again into 
the country of the Gadarenes, and 



LUKE. 



503 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The "Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the man that was cured begged to go 
with him, but Jesus desired him to 
go home and show what great things 
had been done for him. And his 
fame was spread throughout the 
country. 

41. A man of the name of Jairus, 
who was a ruler of the synagogue, 
came to Jesus, and told him that his 
daughter, who was twelve years of 
age, was then dying. While he was 
speaking, the news was brought him 
that his daughter was already dead. 
But Jesus replied, Fear not, thy 
daughter shall revive. When he 
came to the house, he would suffer 
only Peter, James, and John, and the 
child's father and mother, to go in. 
He then took her by the hand, and 
said, Maiden, arise ! and her spirit 
instantly came, and she arose. 

44. On his way to the house, there 
came behind him a woman, who had 
had an issue of blood for twelve years, 
that could not be cured : she touched 
the border of his garment, and imme- 
diately the issue was cured. 



CHA.PTER IX. 



1. Jesus then called the twelve to 
him, and gave them power and au- 
thority over devils, and to cure dis- 
eases, and he sent them to preach 
the kingdom of God, directing them 
to provide nothing for their journey, 
neither bread, nor money, nor scrip. 
And whosoever will not receive you, 
when you leave that city, shake off 
the very dust from your feet as a 
testimony against them. 

8. When Herod, the tetrarch, 
heard of all that was done by Jesus, 
he was perplexed, being informed 
that it was John the Baptist, who 
was risen from the dead. But Herod 
said, Who is this? I should like to see 
him, for I have beheaded John? Jesus 
and his disciples went privately into 



504 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, The Word of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



24. Whoever will save his soul, 
must relinquish the seductions of 
this world ; for what doth it profit 
a man to gain the whole world if he 
lose his own soul? To save your 
own soul, follow the dictates of the 
" Moral Law" on all occasions. Nei- 
ther can you plead that you know it 
not — for God has planted his sacred 
law in your own Reason, and given 
you his spirit of truth — Conscience 
— to decide in all cases how you ought 
to act. Thus will you effectually 
crush the sinful lusts of the flesh, 
which are purposely engendered by 
Sense, to prove your virtue and your 
claim to future reward in heaven. 



Material, or Earthly. 
a desert place near Bethsaida. When 
the people knew it, they followed 
him, and he preached the kingdom 
of God to them, and healed them 
that were sick. 

12. Towards evening, his disciples 
came to him and said: Send away 
the multitude, as this is a desert 
place, that they may get food and 
lodging. But Jesus said, Give them 
something to eat. They replied, We 
have only five loaves and two fishes, 
unless we go and buy meat for them. 
But Jesus said, Make the people 
(who amounted to about five thou- 
sand) sit down in companies of fifty. 
They did so. Jesus then took the 
five loaves and the two fishes, and 
distributed them to the disciples, and 
they gave them to the multitude, 
who ate till they were all satisfied, 
and they took up twelve baskets of 
fragments. 

18. When Jesus was alone pray- 
ing, he asked his disciples who the 
people said he was. They answered, 
John the Baptist ; some say a pro- 
phet risen from the dead. But 
what say you, Peter? He said, The 
Christ. Then he desired them to 
tell no one. 

52. Jesus then told his disciples 
that he must suffer much on account 
of the new doctrine which he 
preached. 

28. Eight days after this, Jesus 
took with him Peter, John, and 
James, and went into a mountain 
to pray, and was ti-ansfigured before 
them. Peter said to Jesus, It is 
good for us to be here : and, while 
he was speaking, a cloud oversha- 
dowed them, and a voice out of the 
cloud said, This is my beloved son ; 
hear him. The disciples now fell 
on their faces and were frightened : 
and they told no one what had hap- 
pened. 



LUKE. 



505 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY., 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



48. To do the will of God is on 
all occasions to exercise the pure, 
spiritual, power of Reason, with 
which God has endowed you, in order 
to suppress the irregular desires of 
Sense ; and this must be done to 
your own absolute Conviction, or you 
have not satisfied your Conscience. 



59. Whoever is so wedded to the 
pleasures of the world of Sense as to 
deny the supremacy of Reason is 
unfit fur the kingdom of God. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 

37. On the following day, when 
they had descended from the moun- 
tain, he was met by much people. 
A certain man, from among them, 
came to Jesus, and said : I beseech 
you to look upon my only son, who 
is possessed with a devil ; your disci- 
ples were unable to cure him. Jesus 
rebuked the unclean spirit, healed 
the child, and restored him to his 
father. 

46. The disciples were disputing 
among themselves which of them 
should be the greatest; and Jesus, 
knowing their thoughts, placed a 
child by his side, saying, He who 
acts with kindness towards this 
child not only serves me but doeth 
the will of Him that sent me. John 
then said, Master, we saw one cast- 
ing out devils in thy name, and we 
forbade him, because he did not fol- 
low us. And Jesus said, Forbid him 
not, for he that is not against us is 
for us. 

51. When Jesus was preparing to 
go to Jerusalem, on his way he was 
met by a man who said, I will follow 
you wherever you go. Jesus then 
said to another, Follow me, but he 
said, Suffer me first to burymyfather. 
Jesus said, Let the dead bury their 
dead ; and do you go and preach the 
kingdom of God. Another said, I 
will follow thee, but let me first bid 
farewell to my family. Jesus said, 
He that is wedded to the pleasures of 
this world is unfit for the kingdom of 
God. 



CHAPTER X. 

1 . After this, Jesus appointed se- 
venty, besides his apostles, to preach 
the Word in every city and place. 
And into whatever house you enter 
say : Peace be unto you ! heal the 
sick, and say that the kingdom of 
God is at hand. In those citiei 



506 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY. 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



27. Love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and with all thy strength, and thy 
neighbour as thyself. The love here 
spoken of is practical love — that is, 
a pure, spiritual determination that 
the motives which induce our actions 
should not only be in strict conformity 
with the law of Reason — the " Moral 
Law " — but spring from nothing but 
pure reverence for this law of God. 
So commanding is Reason over the 
inclinations of Sense in all good 
men. 

29. This parable fully explains the 
import placed on the word neigh- 
bour, by Christ in his teaching, 
namely, not that individual merely 
whom chance has placed near you, 
but every one of God's creatures 
that stand in need of assistance ; and 
you prove yourself a neighbour by 
administering kind offices to him. 
Every creature endowed with Reason 
is the neighbour of every rational in- 
dividual ; for who can be so closely 
connected together as beings made 
by the same God, and actuated by 
the same divine laws! Thus do the 
pure motives of Reason assuage the 
sufferings of Sense. " Go and do 
thou likewise." 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
where youare not well received, leave 
the city and shake the dust off your 
feet in testimony against, them. And 
the seventy returned again with joy, 
saying, We have even cast out devils 
in thy name. 

25. A certain lawyer, trying to en- 
snare Jesus, said, What shail I do 
to inherit eternal life ? Jesus said 
to him, How do you understand the 
law as it is written? He explained 
the law as on the other side, and 
Jesus said, Thou hast answered 
rightly, do this and thou shalt inherit 
eternal life. But he said to Jesus, 
Who is my neighbour ? which Jesus 
answered by a parable, saying, A 
certain man went down from Jeru- 
salem to Jericho, and fell among 
thieves, who stripped him of his 
raiment, and wounded him, leaving 
him half dead. A certain priest passed 
that way; and, when he saw him, 
went on the other side ; then a Le- 
vite passed by, who came and looked 
on him and went his way. But a 
Samaritan, who was journeying that 
way, saw him, and had compassion on 
him. He went to him, bound up his 
wounds, and took him to an inn, say- 
ing, Take care of the invalid, and, 
when next I pass this way, I will de- 
fray every expense. 

36. Which now of these three 
thinkest thou was this man's neigh- 
bour ? He replied, That who showed 
him kindness. Then Jesus said, Go 
and do thou likewise. 



CHAPTER XI. 



2. When you pray, say: Our Father 
which art in heaven, hallowed be thy 
name, thy kingdom come, thy will be 
done in earth as it is in heaven • 
give us this day our daily bread, for- 
give us our trespasses as we forgive 
them that trespass against us, and 
deliver us from evil. 



1. As they passed a certain place, 
one of his disciples said unto him, 
Teach us to pray as John the Baptist 
taught his disciples. Jesus then said 
to them as on the other side. 

14. As Jesus was casting a devil 
out of a dumb man, when the devil 
had left him, the dumb man spake : 



LUKE. 



507 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



Tire "Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 

7. Ask and it shall be given to you, 
seek and you shall find: that is, 
whoever in the purity of his heart 
sincerely seeks the paths of virtue 
and stedfastly avoids vice, his efforts 
to attain this sublime object will be 
assisted by the inward and spiritual 
grace which your heavenly Father 
will impart to you. This is effected 
by Practical Reason, which not 
only originates the law of God, but 
also furnishes rules for the perform- 
ance of our moral duties, which are 
confirmed by that spirit of truth, 
Conscience, and thus are we assured 
that we have performed our duty, 
and constantly kept the desires of 
Sense in due subjection to the Com- 
mandments of Reason. 

28. Blessed are they that hear the 
Word of God and keep it; that is, 
conscientiously adhere to the dictates 
of moral or Practical Reason. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
but some, with a view to entrap him, 
said, He casteth out devils through 
Beelzebub, the chief of the devils. 
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, 
said, A kingdom divided against 
itself cannot stand. How, then, if 
Satan be divided against himself, 
can his kingdom stand ? But, if God 
cast out devils, you may be sure 
the kingdom of God is upon you. 
He that is not with me is against 
me. 

37. A certain Pharisee invited 
Christ to dine with him ; but, when 
he sat down to table, he marvelled 
that he did not wash himself before 
he sat down to dinner. But Jesus 
said, You Pharisees make clean the 
outside of the cup and platter, while 
the inward man is full of wickedness. 
You pay attention to trifles, and pass 
over the love of God. 



CHAPTER XII. 



33. Lay up for yourselves treasure 
in heaven, which cannot be taken 
from you. When virtuous principles 
have struck deep in your heart, the 
seductions of vice cannot eradicate 
them. 

37. Always be prepared to enter 
the kingdom of heaven, as you know 
not when your soul may be demanded 
of you. This can only be effected by 
walking with the law before you — 
that is, on all occasions fulfilling your 
moral duties, by convincing yourself 
of the supremacy of Reason, and of 
the due subjection of the desires of 
Sense. 



1. There was once an immense 
multitude of people collected, and 
Jesus spake a parable to them, say- 
ing, There was a certain rich man 
whose grounds brought forth most 
abundantly, so that he had no room 
to stow away his fruits. He then 
said to himself, I will pull down ray 
barns and build larger, and, having 
so much store by me, which will last 
me many years, I will take my ease, 
eat, drink, and be merry. How very 
inconsiderate was this man, placing 
his whole dependence on the things 
of this world, and neglecting the sal- 
vation of his soul ! Jesus said, This 
very night thy soul may be demanded 
of thee, and then what become* of ;dl 
thy treasures ? 



CHAPTER XIII. 

1. Some that were present told 
, Jesus of the Galileans, whose blood 
y 5 



508 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



6. The parable of the fig-tree 
implies that, though man may have 
strayed from the paths of virtue, yet 
he may be reclaimed ; and it is right ; fruit" for three successive" years. He 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Pilate had spilt. And he said, Do 
you suppose that they were sinners 
above others, because they were 
sufferers? I tell you they were not; 
but, unless you repent, you will pe- 
rish. Or do you suppose that the 
eighteen, who perished by the fall of 
the tower of Siloam, at Jerusalem, 
were greater sinners than the rest 
of the inhabitants of that city ? I tell 
you they were not ! but, unless you 
repent, you will perish. 

9. Jesus then spake this parable. 
A certain man had a fig-tree in his 
vineyard, which failed of producing 



to give him every opportunity to re 
pent of his evil ways, and save his 
soul alive. This regeneration is felt 
in our Conscience, when we are 
convinced of the sincerity and purity 
of the motives which actuate our 
conduct, and render it conformable 
to the laws of Practical Reason, 
by which alone the carnal desires of 
Sense can be restrained. This victory 
is the essence of virtue. 



then gave orders that the tree should 
be cut down, being quite useless. 
But the man who tended the tree 
said, Give it another year's trial. I 
will dig about and manure it; then, if 
it does bear fruit, well : if not, cut it 
down. 

11. Jesus now cured a woman who 
had been afflicted eighteen years with 
an evil spirit. And, because this 
happened on a sabbath-day, the rulers 
of the synagogues sought to destroy 
him, saying, There are six days in 
which men ought to work. But Jesus 
said to them, You hypocrites, who, 
amongst you, if he were to lose his 
ox, or his ass, would not seek him on 
the sabbath-day ? 
24. Vice is very seducing ; Virtue 22. Jesus then passed through many 
demands sacrifices : but yet avoid villages and cities in his way to Jeru- 
vice and love virtue. salem, teaching the Gospel. But 

28. You will lament your folly some of the Pharisees came to him, 
when it is too late, in not having and told him to depart, or Herod 
prepared to enter the kingdom of would kill him. But Jesus said, I 
God ; which can only be effected by must do my duty, let the conse- 
a strict performance of your duties quences be what they will, exclaim- 
on all occasions, ever keeping in view ing, O Jerusalem! — O Jerusalem ! 
that all the desires of Sense must be who destroyestthe prophets who are 
regulated by Reason. sent to benefit thee ! 

CHAPTER XIV. 

1 . When Jesus went into the house 
, of one of the Pharisees, on a sabbath- 



LUKE. 



509 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



11. Whosoever exalteth himself) 
shall be abased ; and he who hum- j 
bleth himself shall be exalted. 

12. Do nothing with the hope of; 
a recompence, but act entirely from 
disinterested motives and the purity ; 
of the heart, and your reward will be j 
with your heavenly Father in thei 
world to come. The very contem- | 
plation of a reward is the complete 
destruction of Morality, which says 
— Obey the law of your own Reason, 
out of pure love and reverence for 
the law of God,' and bury Satan, who! 
opposes through the inclinations of 
Sense. 

26. The love of God must exceed | 
that with which a father loves his 
son, or a mother loves her daughter ; j 
nay, it must exceed that with which 
you cherish your own life. Nothing 
should tempt you to forego strict j 
obedience to the " Moral Law." 



The Word of MAN == SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
day, to eat bread, they watched him, 
to see if he would offend against 
the law. There was a man among 
them who had the dropsy, and Jesus 
said to them, Is it lawful to heal on 
the sabbath-day ? but they made no 
reply. Jesus immediately healed the 
man. 

7. Jesus then spake this parable 
to them : When you are bidden to 
a wedding, do not sit down in the 
highest rooms nor in the best places, 
lest some one more honourable than 
yourself come to the feast, and you 
are requested to give place to him. 
Jesus then said, The kingdom of 
heaven is like unto a certain man 
who gave a great supper, and in- 
vited many guests. But, when the 
feast was ready, all made excuses : 
one saying he had bought a piece 
of ground, and must needs go and 
see it ; another said he had bought 
five yoke of oxen, and must go and 
prove them ; another said he had 
married a wife, and, therefore, could 
not come. When the host was in- 
formed of their excuses, he ordered 
his servants to bring whomsoever 
would come, for many are invited 
that neglect the call. 



7. There will be more joy in heaven 
over one sinner that repenteth, than 
over ninety and nine good men who 
Deed no repentance. 



CHAPTER XV. 

1. At this time, amongst others, 
many publicans and sinners came 
to hear Jesus ; which the Phari- 
sees and Scribes remarked, saying, 
This man receiveth sinners, and 
eateth with them. Then Jesus spake 
this parable to them, saying, Who 
amongst you, having a hundred sheep, 
if he loses one of them, will not leave 
the ninety and nine, and go in search 
of the lost sheep ; and, when he has 
found it, rejoice on the occasion with 
his neighbours? 

1 ] . J esus then said to them , There 
was a man who had two son> ; the 



510 



LUKE. 



IX3CTRINE. 



HISTORY,- 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
younger one requested his father to 
give him at the present time the 
portion he intended for his mainte- 
nance. Having received it, he went 
into a distant country, and wasted all 
his substance in riotous living. At 
length he was so reduced that he 
gladly accepted an offer to tend swine. 
But there arose a great famine in 
thatland, and he was glad to feed with 
the hogs. He then reflected on his 
situation, and said within himself, 
How many hired servants doth my 
father keep, that have more bread 
than they can eat, while I am perish- 
ing with hunger ! I will even go to 
my father, and acknowledge my error, 
and solicit his forgiveness. But his 
father, seeing him approach, ran to 
meet him, and forgave him all, saying, 
Now let us rejoice, for I have found 
my lost son. The elder brother, on 
hearing this, became angry, and was 
envious of the favour bestowed on 
his brother. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



9. Though it is impossible to pass 
through this life without having com- 
munication with the designing, yet 
he that is faithful in the least trust 
that is reposed in him is also faithful 
in trusts of more importance; and he 
that is unfaithful in the concerns of 
this world, how much less is he to 
be depended on in spiritual love and 
truth ! 

15. But God knoweth your hearts, 
for that which is highly esteemed 
among men is an abomination in the 
sight of the Lord. Your own " Con- 
science," which is a messenger from 



1. Jesus then told his disciples 
this parable : There was a certain 
rich man, whose steward was accused 
of wasting his goods. He called the 
steward to him, and ordered him im- 
mediately to make up his account, as 
he should instantly discharge him. 
The steward then said within himself, 
What shall I do? I cannot dig; and 
to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved 
what to do, when I am put out of 
my stewardship ; I will make friends 
of my lord's debtors, that they may 
receive me into their houses. Ac- 
cordingly, he debited them with less 
sums than they actually owed his em- 
ployer. And the Lord commended 
the unjust steward; because he had 
displayed prudence by ingratiating 
himself with the children of this 
world. 

16. Until the time of John the 



LUKE. 



511 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
God, will always tell you truly whether 
or not you have strictly obeyed the 
law of Reason, and suppressed the 
desires of Sense. 

17. The purity of Morality is such 
that it forces the conviction of its 
truth on every rational creature; and 
whoever acts up to its divine precepts 
is sure of his reward in the kingdom 
of eternal bliss. Reverence for this 
law of Practical Reason will ensure 
the complete victory over the seduce- 
ments of Sense. 



The "Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Baptist, the Mosaic law and the pro- 
phets were the prevailing doctrine. 
But, since that time, the kingdom of 
God is preached ; and it is easier 
for heaven and earth to pass away 
than one tittle of the new doctrine to 
fail. 

19. Lazarus, the beggar, solicited 
alms from a rich man, who fared 
sumptuously every day. They both 
departed this life ; but the rich man 
met his torments in hell, while the 
poor man was rewarded in heaven. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

4. Forgive one another, and your 1. Jesus then said to his disciples, 
Father in heaven will forgive you. It is impossible to pass through life 
You are required to do your duty without both giving and receiving 
quite disinterestedly, otherwise your offence ; yet, take heed to yourselves, 
conduct is not moral, nor are you for if your brother offend you very 
acceptable in the sight of God. When many times, and at length is sorry 
you are convinced that Reason rules for his conduct, you shall forgive 
your motives, you are sure that Sense him. 

is kept within due limits. 10. You who do not the things 

that are commanded you are unpro- 
fitable servants. 

11. As Jesus was on his way to 
Jerusalem, he passed through Sa- 
maria and Galilee : and, in a certain 
village, he was met by ten men who 
were lepers, and they begged Jesus 
to cure them, which he instantly did. 
21. Morality, or the duties of One of them, who was a Samaritan, 
virtue, can exist only in reasonable returned fervant thanks for his cure, 
creatures, for it is a reference of the But Jesus said, Were there not ten 
motive of an action to the Moral cured, and where are the nine? But 
Law, which is founded in the Reason they were not found to give thanks 
of Man. Its dictum is " Act in such to God for the blessing. 



a manner that the motive of the 
action maybe fit for a universal law, 
that is, be morally good on all occa- 
sions, whatever may be the conse- 
quence." Reason commands this 
line of conduct, and thus is the 



20. The Pharisees then asked Jesus 
by what sign they should know when 
the kingdom of heaven was at hand. 
But he assured them, saying, The 
Kingdom of God is within you> and 
cannot be perceived by any outward 



" Kingdom oj 'God within you;" and, sign. I, however, shall suffer many 
if acted up to, you have subdued the things, because I have promulgated 
sinful lusts of the fles-h originated by this new doctrine, which will never 
Sense. , pa-s away. 



512 



JUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



CHAPTE 



11. He that exalteth himself shall 
be abased, and he that humbleth 
himself shall be exalted. 



19. " No one is good but God." 
How can any thing be good which 
inhabits the sphere of Time, where 
every thing is in perpetual change 
from its birth to its death, and where 
nothing can be pure! — On earth, 

the perfect purity of God could not and you shall have treasure in heaven; 
exist ; in heaven, which is Eternity, but, when he heard this, he was sor- 
nothing but perfect purity can be rowful, for he was rich, 
found. 31. Jesus then told the twelve that 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
R XVIII. 

1. Jesus then spake a parable, 
which he intended as a lesson to those 
who trusted too much in their own 
righteousness. In a certain city 
i there was a judge, who feared neither 
; God nor man, to whom a widow ap- 
plied for relief against her adver- 
j sary. He was unwilling to enter into 
the merits of her case ; but he said, 
| She is so very importunate that I 
: must avenge her in order to obtain 
! quiet. Shall not God avenge his 
; elect, though he delay long with 
; them ? 

10. Jesus then said, Two men 
went into the temple to pray ; the one 
a Pharisee, the other a publican. The 
former vaunted that he was not as 
other men, but that he attended 
strictly to all the ceremonies of his 
religion; while the publican modestly 
stood at a distance, and felt an in- 
ward conviction of his unworthiness. 
The man who prayed in all humility 
went away justified rather than the 
other. 

15. They then brought infants to 
Jesus that he might touch them, 
and his disciples rebuked them. 
But Christ said, Suffer little children 
to come unto me, and forbid them 
I not, for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven. 

18. A certain ruler came to Jesus, 
and said, Good Master, what shall I 
do to inherit eternal life? Christ 
said to him, Why do you call me 
good? No one is good but God. 
When Jesus told him he must keep 
God's commandments, he said, This 
I have done from my youth. Still 
you lack one thing to be perfect — 
sell all you have and give to the poor, 



LUKE. 



513 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
29. To enter the kingdom of heaven, 
you must be strictly virtuous, and 
keep God's commandments, which 
are engraved in your heart and ac- 
knowledged by your Conscience, and 
then you shall enjoy eternal bliss in 
the world to come. You must con- 
stantly walk with the law before you 
— that is, in all cases consult pure 
Practical Reasox, and it will fur' 
nish you with the rule to suppress 
the improper desires of Sense. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
they must now all go to Jerusalem, 
for many things were yet to be ac- 
complished ; that he should be de- 
livered over to the Gentiles and ill 
treated, nay, that he should be put 
to death : but they did not understand 
him. 

35. When they were near to Jericho, 
a blind beggar, who sate by the road- 
side, hearing that it was Jesus who 
was passing by, besought him to cure 
him Jesus commanded the man to 
come to him, and he immediately re- 
ceived his sight. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

1. As 



22. This parable implies, that those 
who act virtuously in this world will 
be rewarded in the world to come, 
according to their deserts. As no 
actum in Time can constitute virtue 
— because virtue docs not reside in 
matter — it can only be the //tola-'' — 



Jesus passed through 
Jericho, Zacchseus, who was a pub- 
lican, and in good circumstances, 
heard that Jesus was to pass that 
way, and, being anxious to see him, 
which he feared of accomplishing, 
because the crowd was so great, and 
he was a man of small stature, he 
ran before the crowd and climbed up 
a sycamore-tree, in order to see him . 
When Jesus approached the spot 
where he was, he called to him and 
said, ZacchaBus, make haste down, 
for to-day I shall abide at your house. 
But the people murmured, saying, 
The Christ was gone to be the guest 
of a sinner. 

11. Jesus then spoke a parable to 
them, saying, A certain rich noble- 
man went into a distant land, to have 
the sovereignty of a kingdom con- 
ferred on him, and then he intended 
to return home. Accordingly, he sum- 
moned his servants, and entrusted 
each with a sum of money. On 
his return, he called his servants to 
him, to see what they had gained by 
industry, and rewarded them accord- 
ingly. 

28. On their way to Jerusalem, 
and when they were near Bethphage, 
at the Mountof Olives, Jesus direct* d 



514 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

which is mental, that is, spiritual, two of his disciples to go to the vil- 
and must reside in Eternity — that ^ a S e opposite and bring a colt, on 



constitutes pure virtue. Hence the 
motive gives the value to the action. 



which never man sat, saying, You will 
find him tied there, and loose him. 
If any one interrupt you, say that I 
have need of him. While they were 
loosing the colt, the owner inquired 
what they were about, and they said 
Christ wanted him. They brought 
him, and placed Jesus upon him, and 
spread their garments on the way, 
and went to Jerusalem, the people 
making great rejoicing, at which the 
Pharisees were displeased. 

45. Jesus then went into the tem- 
ple at Jerusalem, and drove out those 
who bought and sold, teaching the 
people daily. The Scribes and Pha- 
risees sought to destroy him, but the 
people were very attentive to his 
doctrine. 



CHAPTER XX. 

1. On one of these occasions, when 
he was teaching the people in the 
temple and preaching the Gospel 
to them, the Chief Priests and Scribes 
inquired by what authority he did 
these things. Jesus replied by asking 
them whether they believed that the 
baptism of John was from Heaven or 
of men. They said they could not 
tell. For if they denied that it was 
from Heaven, they feared the wrath 
of the people, who believed him to 
be a prophet. Jesus then said, Nei- 
ther will 1 tell you by what authority 
I do these things. 

9. Jesus then delivered the follow- 
ing parable. A certain man planted 
a vineyard, and let it out to husband- 
men, and went into a far country. 
When the proper time arrived, he 
sent a servant for the fruit of the 
vineyard. But they beat him, and 
sent him away empty. He then sent 
anotherservant, and they treated him 
t worse. And he again sent a third 



LUKE. 



515 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD — REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



27. The Sadducees were materialists, 
consequently, mustdeny resurrection, 
for the laws of matter cannot apply 
to spirit. Matter is sensation, which 
ever resides in Sense ; Spirit is idea, 
which emanates from Reason. Hence 
matter mast be finite — that is, fill 
up Time and Space ; and the abode 
of Spirit is wholly and entirely in 
Eternitv, because it is infinite. 



The Word Of MAN — SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
servant, whom they wounded and 
cast out. He then sent his beloved 
son, saying, Maybe, they will re- 
verence him. But the husbandmen 
said, This is the heir; we will kill 
him, and the inheritance will then 
be ours. They actually killed him, 
and threw him out of the vineyard. 
Now, what should the lord of the 
vineyard do? He should destroy 
these husbandmen, and give the vine- 
yard to others. 

19. At this time the Chief Priests 
and Scribes sought to apprehend 
Jesus, as they conceived the parable 
of the vineyard was an attack upon 
them. They even employed spies to 
watch his words, that they might 
deliver him over to the power of the 
governor. With this view they asked 
Jesus if it was lawful to pay tribute 
to Caesar ? He perceived their in- 
tention, and desired them to show 
him a coin, which bore a head and 
inscription of the Emperor Caesar. 
He then said unto them, Render unto 
Caesar the things which are Caesar's, 
and unto God the things which are 
God's. 

27. The Sadducees, who denied the 
resurrection, then came to Jesus, 
and said, Master, Moses has written 
that, if a man's brother dies before 
his wife, and leaves no issue, his 
brother shall marry the widow to 
raise up children. Now, there was a 
certain man who died childless, and 
his brother married the wife of the 
deceased, and he also died without 
issue, and the next brother married 
her, and so on for seven brothers. 
We wish to know, in the case of 
resurrection, whose wife she would 
be considered? Jesus replied: — 
In the other world they neither 
marry nor are given in marriage ; 
but are as the angels which are in 
heaven. 



516 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



Material, or Earthly. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



2. It is not the quantity of money 
bestowed that constitutes charity, but 
the purity of the motive in the dona- 
tion. Hence the value of the widow's 
mite. Sincere and honest obedience 
to the " Moral Law" constitutes Re- 
ligion, which resides in the heart, 



1. While Jesus was teaching in 
the Temple, he said, Beware of 
Scribes who love pomp and show, 
and make long prayers for a pretence. 
Many now cast money into the 
treasury: but there came a poor 
widow who threw in two mites. Jesus 



and is the subjection of the Will of said, This trifle is of more worth 

Man, or Sense, to the Will of God, than all that has been cast into the 

or Reason. treasury : for they gave of their 

34. Prepare for the world to come, abundance, but she has given her all. 
that you may be acceptable in the 12. Jesus then told his disciples, 

sight of the Lord. How can that You will be persecuted and betrayed 

pass away which is not in Time ? into the hands of your enemies for 

Whatever is in Eternitv must last teaching this new doctrine, which no 

for ever. Morality and its Author one will be able to gainsay or resist, 

are out of Time, and properly belong Heaven and earth shall pass away; 

to Eternity. but my words shall not pass away. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

1. As the feast of the Passover 
was near, the Chief Priests and 
Scribes sought how they might take 
Jesus and kill him : but they feared 
the people. Then Judas Iscariot, 
one of the twelve, went to the Chief 
Priests, and undertook to betray 
Jesus into their hands for a sum of 
money. Jesus then said to Peter and 
John, Go into the city, and, when you 
meet a man caiTying a pitcher of 
water, follow him, and at the house 
where he enters there prepare the 
Passover. 

14. Here Christ went and sat down 

with the twelve apostles, saying, I 

am desirous to eat this Passover with 

you before I suffer. He then took the 

bread, and, giving thanks, he said, 

This is my body, which is given for 

you : repeat this in remembrance of 

15. Christ said, I wish to eat this me. After supper, he took the wine, 

Passover with you. Take of this saying, This cup is the neiu testament, 

cup and of this bread ; it is a type of sealed by my blood, which is shed for 

the " New Testament," graciously you. 

appointed by God for the redemption 21. Jesus then said, One of you 
and ultimate salvation of man, " from , who is now at table will betray me ; 



LUKE, 



517 



D.OC TRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
the fall of man to the end of the 
world." Repeat this in memory of 
me. The Old Testament may be 
considered in the light of earthly 
arrangements ; while the New Testa- 
ment, or the Christian Dispensation, 
reveals the kingdom of heaven to 
man, by showing that all the com- 
mandments of God are grounded in 
Reason and confirmed by Conscience, 
and that the sinful lusts of the flesh 
are inherent in Sense. Scientifically 
we should say, that the laws of Moses 
regard mundane regulations, which 
always refer to actions in Time, and 
that the laws of Christ are strictly 
moral, and only regard motives in 
Eternity. Hence the " Revelation" 
of Jesus Christ must be considered 
as a full development of moral or 
Practical Reason, which is con- 
stantly referred to as the law of God, 
or of the Father in heaven ; while 
the " Revelation " of Moses regards 
created matter and its mundane ar- 
rangements, which can only be re- 
cognised by Sense — in truth, matter 
is nothing but sensation. The Lord's 
Supper is, therefore, the outward 
and visible sign of the inward spiritual 
grace. 



70. Christ most certainly is the 
Son of God, when he refers exclu- 
sively to the Doctrine he teaches,! 
and even identifies himself with these 
pure spiritual laws of God; which 
can only be made manifest to man 
by types which affect Sense. But 
the communication of these types to 
others constitutes History, and is 
not yet moral, or spiritual, until 
Reason, through these types, is forced 
to contemplate its own pure nature. 
Then, indeed, does it acknowledge j 



The Word Of MAN == SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
and they inquired which of them it 
might be. 

31. Jesus told Simon Peter that he 
doubted his faith : but Peter assured 
Christ that he would follow him, not 
only to prison but even to death. To 
which Jesus replied, Before the cock 
crows thou shalt deny me thrice. 

39. Jesus went as usual to the 
Mount of Olives, accompanied by 
his disciples, to pray, saying, Oh, 
my Father, that this cup might be 
averted from me ! — nevertheless, thy 
will be done! When he returned 
from prayer, he found his disciples 
asleep ; he said, Why sleep you ? 
rise and pray; for I am betrayed. 
And while he was speaking, a multi- 
tude of people approached him, with 
Judas at their head, wdio went up to 
Jesus and kissed him. He then 
said to them, You are come as 
against a thief with swords and staves 
to take me. When I sat teaching 
daily in the temple you did not take 
me. 

54. They then took him to the 
High Priest's house, and Peter fol- 
lowed afar off; and, when he had* 
arrived at the palace, he sat down 
in the hall with the servants. One 
of the maids, who had been atten- 
tively looking at him, said, This man 
was also with Jesus ; but he denied 
the fact. He was then challenged by 
a man ; Peter still denied. About an 
hour afterwards, another said, This 
fellow was with him ; but Peter still 
denied all knowledge of him. And 
immediately the cock crew. Peter 
then remembered the words of Christ 
and wept bitterly. 

63. On the following morning, the 
Chief Priests and Scribes held a 
council, and interrogated Jesus, say- 
ing, Art thou the son of God ? And 
he said, Yes, I am. They then 
resolved that this was blasphemy 



518 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly, 

the divinity oi Christ in the purity of enough, and required no further 
the precepts he enforced ! witnesses. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

1. The council then arose, and led 
Jesus to Pilate, saying, We found 
this fellow perverting the nation, and 
preventing their paying tribute to 
Caesar, also calling himself Christ, a 
King. Pilate asked him if he was 
the King of the Jews ? He replied, 
You have said it. Pilate then said 
to the Chief Priests and the people, 
I find no fault in this man. But 
they were the more desirous to have 
him condemned, because he had been 
teaching his new doctrine, and stir- 
ring up the people, beginning from 
Galilee to this place. Pilate then 
inquired if Jesus was a Galilaean, 
and, finding that to be the case, he 
referred him to Herod, who was at 
that time in Jerusalem. Herod was 
desirous of seeing Jesus, having 
heard of his fame. But to Herod's 
questions he replied nothing. 

10. The Chief Priests and Scribes 
vehemently accused him, and Herod 
and his soldiers reviled and mocked 
him, and sent him again to Pilate. 
But he said, I told you before that I 
found no fault in this man ; and, as it 
is customary to release a prisoner at 
the feast of the Passover, f will re- 
lease Christ. But they all cried out, 
Release Barabbas, and crucify Christ. 

33. They then led Jesus to Mount 
Calvary, where they crucified him, 
and two malefactors, one on the right 
and the other on the left of him. 
Jesus then said, Father, forgive them, 
for they know not what they do. 
They parted his raiment, and cast lots 
for it. The rulers and the people 
who stood by said, He saved others — 
let him save himself. Then the sol- 
diers mocked him, and offered him 
vinegar. Over his head they placed 



5. The discordance between Doc- 
trine and History is powerfully 
illustrated in Christ's teaching the 
new doctrine, and stirring up the 
people. The old doctrine was the 
law of Moses. Facts must be vouched 
by Sense, and, being recorded, con- 
stitute History ; while the pure, 
spiritual laws of Reason are invisible 
to the natural eye, and are only ac- 
knowledged in Conscience. The great 
law of Reason, in its application to 
the affairs of this world, is, promote 
the " Happiness of others and 
your own Perfection" — the con- 
verse of this rule is impossible: it is 
absolutely impossible to do that for 
another which can only be done by 
himself. This is too evident to re- 
quire a proof. No one can make 
another a mathematician ; this labour 
must be done by himself. It is true, 
we may point out the way to ac- 
complish this object — then we have 
done. So, in Morals, we may teach 
the " Sacred Science," but surely it 
must be the person's own work to be 
a moral character, that is, to adopt 
the ''Science of Motives." Do the 
will of my Father who is in heaven, 
and you shall inherit the Kingdom 
of God. 



LUKE. 



519 



DOCTRINE, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



Material, or Earthly. 
this inscription, in Greek, Latin, and 
Hebrew — This is the King of the 
Jews. 

44. About the sixth hour there 
was darkness over all the earth, 
which lasted till the ninth hour, and 
the vail of the temple was rent. Then 
Jesus cried with a loud voice, Father, 
to thee I commend my spirit ! and 
gave up the ghost. 

50. After this, a certain counsel- 
lor, named Joseph, of Arimathaea, 
begged the body of Pilate. He then 
took it down, and wrapped it in fine 
linen, and laid it in a sepulchre hewn 
out of the solid rock, that had never 
been used before. The women who 
came with Jesus from Galilee saw 
how the body was laid in the tomb. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



1. Early in the morning of the 
first day of the week, the women 
came to the sepulchre, prepared with 
spices to embalm the body, when, to 
their surprise, they found the stone 
rolled away from the mouth of the 
tomb: and, when they entered, the 
body of Jesus was not to be found. 
Two men, who stood there, on per- 
ceiving them said, Why seek ye the 
livingamong the dead ? Youremem- 
ber what Jesus said to you in Galilee 
— that he should rise again on the 
third day. They then left the se- 
pulchre, and informed the eleven of 
what had occurred. 

10. The persons who went to the 
tomb were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, 
and Mary, the mother of James : but 
the apostles considered these rela- 
tions as idle tales. Peter instantly 
ran to the sepulchre, where he per- 
ceived the linen clothes, but the body 
was not there. Two of the apostles 
went the same day to the village of 
Emmaus, not far from Jerusalem; 
_ and, while they were talking together 



520 



LUKE. 



DOCTRINE^ 



HISTORY^ 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



47. Repent of your sins, and pre- 
pare yourselves by virtuous conduct 
to inherit the Kingdom of God. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
of what had happened, Jesus came 
to them and said, What are you con- 
versing about that makes you sad? 
Cleopas asked if he was a stranger 
in Jerusalem and had not heard what 
had happened — that Jesus of Naza- 
reth had been put to death. 

22. As they all walked on, the 
stranger intended to go beyond the 
village; but they requested him to 
remain with them. When they were 
all seated at table, he took bread, 
blessed it, and gave it to them, and 
immediately their eyes were opened ; 
they knew it was Jesus, but he in- 
stantly vanished from their sight. 

33. They all rose, and proceeded 
to Jerusalem, where they informed 
the eleven what had happened. 
While they were conversing about 
these events, Jesus himself stood in 
the midst of them, and said, Peace be 
to you. But they were very much 
frightened, fancying they had seen a 
spirit. Jesus then said to them, Be 
not afraid ; it is I : look at my hands 
and feet ! a spirit is not made of 
flesh and blood. He asked them for 
some refreshment, and they offered 
him some broiled fish and some honey- 
comb, which he ate. 

50. Jesus then led them as far as 
Bethany, expounding the Scriptures 
to them, and directing them to preach 
the new doctrine to all nations, be- 
ginning at Jerusalem ; and while he 
was blessing them he was carried up 
to heaven. 




€3)5 Gospel according; to &t. $of)n. 



DOCTRINE,, 



HISTORY^ 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



Material, or Earthly. 



CHAPTER I. 



1. The sublime doctrine of Christ 
is beautifully displayed by St. John, 
in making the Greek word \6yog 
represent the new doctrine and per- 
sonifying the principle of Reason, 
which is purely spiritual ; thus raising 
the idea of God, who is a perfectly 
pure intelligence — the Creator, 
Preserver, and Ruler, of moral' 
beings as well as of the mundane 
system. This \6yoc, or word, which 



6. There was a man named John, 
who employed himself in dispelling 
the darkness of the times and intro- 
ducing the new doctrine. 

19. John explained to the Priests 
and Levites that were sent to him 
from Jerusalem that a man would 
come after him who would very far 
surpass him in teaching the new 
doctrine. He told them that the law 
was given by Moses ; but that truth 



constitutes one essential part of the and grace would be preached by Jesus 

Godhead, was made manifest on Christ. 

earth by Christ, who preached the 25. The Pharisees asked John why 

new doctrine. he baptised, as he was not the Christ ; 

14. And the word was made flesh, he said, I only baptise with water, but 

and dwelt among us ; that is, the Christ will baptise with the Holy 

spirit was incarnate, or, in other Ghost. 

words, the moral principle, which is 29. The next day, John saw Jesus 
spiritual, is joined to the flesh, which coming towards him, and he ex- 
is material, and generates a trinity claimed : Behold the lamb of God, 
— thus soul, l()dy, and necessary con- which taketh away the sins of the 
nexion, constitute man. Hence arises world! On another occasion, when 
a Holy Trinity : for, as the soul, or John and two of his disciples were 
spiritual man, requires an author, together, they saw Jesus walking, 



nothing short of a pure, spiritual 
essence could have begotten the soul, 
which is a spirit. These elements 
constitute the notion of the Deity — 
thus God the Father ; God the Son ; 
and God the Holy Ghost ; which 



and John said, Behold the lamb of 
God ! They then followed Jesus, who 
invited them to come with him ; and 
they remained with him all that day. 
40. They introduced Simon to 
Jesus, who said : You are Simon the 



522 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The "Word Of GOD = REASON, The Word of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

three essences are coeval and alike son of Jona; you shall in future be 

spiritual. Thus the Author of the called Cephas, which means a stone, 



Soul ; the Spirit, or Soul ; and the 
Connexion between the Soul and its 
Maker: — 6eoc, Xoyog, (tvvsxvq- 



and from the Greek is called Peter. 
43. As Jesus was going to Galilee 
he saw Philip, and said to him, Follow 
me. Philip met Nathaniel, and told 
him he had seen Jesus of Nazareth, 
the son of Joseph ; and they went to 
him. 



CHAPTER II. 



I. Shortly after this, a marriage 
was celebrated at Cana, in Galilee. 
Jesus and his disciples were invited 
to the wedding ; his mother was also 
there. In the course of the feast 
they wanted more wine. When Jesus 
found this, he converted the water, 
which the Jews had provided for 
their ablutions, into wine. 

II. This was the first miracle he 
performed at Cana. He then went, 
with his mother, his brothers, and 
his disciples, to Capernaum, and re- 
mained there some days ; but, as the 
Jewish Passover was at hand, he 
went to Jerusalem. 

14. Here he cleared the temple of 
all those who polluted itby converting 
it into ahouse of merchandize. They 
inquired by what authority he did 
these things, but Jesus did not com- 
mit himself, as he was aware of their 
intention. 



CHAPTER HI. 



3. Except a man be born again he 
cannot enter the kingdom of God, or 
bury the man of sin and live again to 
righteousness. Renounce the flesh, 
and encourage the spirit ; that is, 
suppress bad inclinations and practise 
virtue. Now, as the inclinations and 
instincts are generated by Sense, 
of course it requires a different power 
to restrain these desires, and keep 
them within due limits. Reason is 
that power. To renounce the flesh, 



1. Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees, 
came to Jesus, saying, he was sure 
he taught the true doctrine of God, 
because he performed miracles. Je- 
sus now explained his doctrine ; but 
Nicodemus could not comprehend it. 
Jesus then said he was not come to 
punish the world, but to enlighten it. 

22. After this, Jesus and his disci- 
ples went to Judea, where he re- 
mained some time baptising. At the 
same time, John was also baptising 



JOHN. 



523 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
and encourage the spirit, is on all 
occasions to prove the supremacy of 
Reason over Sense. But, as Sense 1 
is the faculty under whose influence 
we at first find ourselves, it is quite 
clear that until we have buried the 
man of Sense, and are born again 
unto righteousness, living under the 
influence of the Moral Law — the law 
of Practical Reason — we cannot 
enter the Kingdom of God. 

20. Those who do evil fear de-; 
tection, lest they should be reproved: 1 
but those who do good need not shun; 
the light, as they are always accepta- 
ble to God. The only moral reproof! 
we have to dread is that of the spirit] 
of truth — which God has planted in! 
our hearts — Conscience. But, when 
the motives which induce our actions \ 
are good, that is, approved by Con- 
science, then we need not shun the 
light. If the action in Time is even; 
reprobated by men, still, if the motive 
in Eternity is perfectly pure, we 
may confidently hope to enter the 
Kingdom of Heaven. 

34. It behoves us strenuously, by 
virtuous conduct, to attend to the 
welfare of the soul, and thus prepare 
it to inherit the realms of eternal) 
bliss. Or, in our search after true] 
happiness we must never offend the ' 
moral law, which manifests itself in' 
our consciences — that is, moral Hap- i 
piness consists entirely in virtue, j 
being the cause of happiness. But 
this can only be effected by our sub- 
mitting every series of sensations that 
is produced by Sense to the test of 
the Moral Law, founded in Reason, 
before we allow ourselves the enjoy- 
ment of them. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE. 

Material, or Earthly. 
at iEnon near Salem. Some of the 
disciples of John had a dispute with 
the Jews about the purification, and 
they referred it to John to explain, 
who told them that he preached the 
word of God ; but that Christ would 
make this doctrine quite evident on 
the face of the whole earth, by clearly 
pointing out the distinction between 
heavenly things and those which 
belong only to earth : or displaying, 
in all its exalted qualities, the supe- 
rior excellence of the soul, or spirit. 
above the body, or the flesh, and 
proving that the soul is susceptible 
of everlasting life ; either blessed or 
cursed according to its deserts ; and 
that the life of the body is a mere 
span. 



CHAPTER IV. 



1. The Pharisees had heard that 
Jesusmade more converts than John, 
t and also baptised more persons than 
z 



524 



JOHN, 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



14. Whoever imbibes the water of 
everlasting life will never thirst again: 
vain and transitory, indeed, are the 
pleasures of this life, compared with 
the endless joys of the life to come.' 
This ought to make us attentive to 
the salvation of the soul, that we may 
be made participators of that kingdom 
prepared for us from the beginning 
of the world. The stream that flows 
from pure Reason cannot fail to be 
everlasting, as the faculty itself is 
infinite, and its abode Eternity. 
But every sensation produced by, 
Sense is not only finite, but it arises 
and terminates in Time. He who 
drinks of this water must, therefore, 
naturally thirst again. 

23. True worshippers shall wor- 
ship the Father in spirit and truth : 
for God is a spirit, and those who 
worship him spiritually, that is, in 
the genuine sincerity of the heart, 
will find favour with God. The only 
true worship is in the purity of the 
motive, which not only arises from 
the Moral Law seated in Practical 
Reason, but consists of nothing but 
love and reverence for this pure law 
of God. All actions ih&t affect Sense 
are merely types of the motive, which 
is known only to man and his Maker, i 
Types must never be confounded 
with their essence, or we should have 
mathematical figures evident to 
Sense, which are only the result of 
Reason. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
he. But Jesus himself did not bap- 
tise; this was performed by his dis- 
ciples. 

3. When Jesus left Judea, intend- 
ing to go to Galilee, he went through. 
Samaria, and came to the city of 
Sichar, near which stood the well 
which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 
And, being fatigued with hisjourney. 
he seated himself on the well. While 
he was resting himself, a Samaritan 
woman came to draw water; and Je- 
sus asked her for some water to drink . 
The woman was greatly astonished 
at this request ; for the Jews and 
Samaritans were at variance. Jesus, 
then told her that, she would not 
refuse him a draught of cold water 
if she knew what consoling doctrine 
he could impart to her in return. 

21. While Jesus was conversing 
with the woman, his disciples ap- 
proached and wondered that he held 
converse with a Samaritan. On 
their arrival, she left her pitcher and 
went into the city, and informed them 
that she had seen Christ; upon which 
many went to him. 

31. His disciples then pressed him 
to take some refreshment ; but he 
replied : I am otherwise occupied — 
I have to do the will of my Father, 
and finish his work. When the 
Samaritans came to him, they be- 
came converts to his doctrine ; and 
requested him to come to their city, 
where he remained two days, making 
many more converts. 

43. Two days afterwards, Jesus 
went into Galilee, where he was well 
received. He then went into Cana, 
where he had made the water wine. 
Here a certain nobleman came to 
him, and said his son was sick and 
at the point of death, at Capernaum, 
and requested him to go down and 
heal his son. But Jesus replied: 
Go, thy son liveth ; and the nobleman 



JOHN 



525 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



Tee Word of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
had faith and went his way. On bis 
return home, he was met by his 
servants, who informed him that his 
son was cured; he then inquired at 
what hour the change took place, 
and found it was precisely at the 
time Christ said the words. This is 
the second miracle Jesus did in 
Galilee. 



CHAPTER V. 



24. Whoever understands the doc- 
trine must be convinced of its divine 
origin ; and whoever acts up to its dic- 
tates will inherit everlasting life. No- 
thing within the precincts of Sense, 
the only depository for sensation, 
commonly called matter, can be di- 
vine, because it is always in a state 
of change from its birth to its dis- 
solution, consequently corruptible as 
an inhabitant of Time. Divinity 
would be defiled and cease to be di- 
vine, if it could by possibility enter 
the territory of matter. It must, 
therefore, exist only in the abode of 
Eternity, be infinite in its nature, 
and perfect in its essence. This is 
precisely the character of Pure Prac- 
tical Reason ; consequently, we 
must be perfectly convinced of its di- 
vine origin : and the laws that spring 
from this divine faculty must also be 
the laws of God, for the Author of 
Reason thus conveys his full com- 
mandments to his creatures. Who- 
ever acts up to these laws shall 
inherit everlasting life. 

29. Whoever does the will of God, 
that is, strictly adheres to the moral 
law, which is in him, shall receive 
his reward in the world to come; 
and whoever disregards the warning 
voice of Conscience shall receive his 
punishment hereafter. The will of God 
is communicated to man through his 
Reason; obedience to it will receive 
its due reward hereafter. But a 



1. Shortly after this, there was a 
feast at Jerusalem, at which Jesus 
was present. In the market-place at 
Jerusalem there was a pool, called 
Bethesda, which had five porches. 
In these lay a great many invalids 
waiting for a certain agitation of the 
water; for whoever went into the 
pool first after this circumstance 
was cured of his disorder. Among 
the invalids, there was a poor man, 
who had been infirm for thirty-eight 
years, waiting for an opportunity to 
enter the pool. Jesus inquired of 
him why he did not take the benefit 
of the waters. He replied, that 
being infirm others entered the 
pool before him ; and being poor 
he had no one to assist him down. 
Jesus said unto him, Wilt thou be 
made whole — then, rise, take up 
thy bed and walk. The invalid was 
instantly cured. This took place on 
the sabbath, on which day it was 
not lawful for a man to carry his 
bed. The Jews, therefore, inquired 
of the man who had ordered him to 
carry his bed. But he was unable 
to satisfy them, as he knew not the 
person who had cured him, and he 
had disappeared in the crowd. 

14. Jesus afterwards met the man 
in the temple, where he conversed 
with him ; then he knew it was 
Jesus, and told the Jews who it was. 
They took this opportunity of per- 
secuting him, saying he had profaned 
z 2 



526 




JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The -Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
disregard of this divine admonition 
consists in an undue indulgence of 
the instincts of Sense, and shall 
meet its merited punishment here- 
after. 

36. " My works bear witness that 
they are from my Father in heaven. 
Ye have neither heard his voice nor 
seen his shape. Nor have you the 
Word of God in you, for you believe 
not in me." You may easily con- 
vince yourself of the truth of the 
Doctrine of Christ, and that it can 
only come from Heaven, because its 
internal evidence is confirmed by Rea- 
son, and makes the same demand on 
all rational creatures. What greater 
proof can be required of its coming 
from God ! Sense can never pro- 
duce evidence like this ; its utmost 
strength of proof lies in its confirming 
the truth of a fact, which is only a 
truth to one individual — he that ex- 
perienced the fact — he that felt the 
sensation — which, when recorded,.be- 
comes History, which, in its most 
extensive meaning, is nothing but 
the Word of Man. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the sabbath, and sought to kill him. 
Jesus defended himself by stating 
that it was lawful to do good on the 
sabbath, and that he was doing the 
work of his Father in heaven. But 
they were the more desirous to 
destroy him, charging him with 
blasphemy in calling God his father, 
thus making himself equal with God. 
33. Jesus said, You have applied 
to John to know the truth of the 
doctrine I teach: but you may con- 
vince yourselves of its truth from its 
own internal evidence. It needs only 
to be heard in order to be understood, 
and then to suppose even its con- 
trary is quite impossible. What 
greater proof can be required of its 
coming from God ! 



CHAPTER VI. 

1. Jesus then crossed the sea of 
Galilee, and was followed by a great 
multitude, who had witnessed the 
miracles he had performed on the 
diseased. He then went up into a 
mountain accompanied by his disci- 
ples. When Jesus observed th* 
number of persons who had followed 
him, he said to Philip, Where shall 
we buy bread for these people ? 
Philip replied, Two hundred penny- 
worth will not be sufficient for them , 
so that each may have a little. An- 
drew then said to him, There is a 
lad here, who has five barley loaves 
and two small fishes, but what arc 
these among so many? Jesus then 
.said, Desire the people (amounting 



JOHN. 



527 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly* 



32. " The dispensation of Moses 
in the Old Testament is not from 
Heaven, but the dispensation in the 
New Testament is from Heaven." 
The internal evidence of the " Books 
of Moses" proves that all his regula- 
tions and laws refer only to earthly in- 
stitutions, while the testimony of the 
" Gospels of Christ" refer wholly to 
the salvation of the soul ; but, as the 
soul is spiritual, surely the Doctrine 
which comes from God must also lead 
to God. Heavenly things emanate 
from Rrason, and are of a spiritual 
nature — consist of syllogisms. Earthly 
things arise from Sense, and are of a 
material nature — consist of sensa- 
tions. The relation of these feelings 
to others constitutes History. Hence 
the record of the fuels which occur in 
the "Old Testament" are strictly 
Historical, while the precepts which 
compose the " New Testament" are 
absolutely Doctrinal. 

63. It is the spirit that cpuickeneth ; 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
to about five thousand ) to sit down ; 
he then gave thanks, and gave the 
loaves and fishes to the disciples, and 
they distributed them to the multi- 
tude, who ate till they were satisfied. 
After the repast, they gathered up 
twelve baskets of fragments. 

15. Jesus, finding that those who 
were converted came to make him a 
king over them, he retired alone into 
a mountain. In the evening, his 
disciples went on board a ship, in- 
tending to cross the sea to Caper- 
naum ; but a storm arose, which 
compelled them to row : when they 
had gone the distance of about thirty 
furlongs, they saw Jesus walking on 
the water, and they were frightened. 
But Jesus said, It is I ; be not afraid. 
He then entered the ship, which was 
immediately at the desired port. 

22. On the following day, when 
the people could not find Jesus, they 
took shipping and went to Caper- 
naum, and, when they found him, 
they begged to be informed what 
they should do to fulfil the will of 
God. Jesus told them that the dis- 
pensation of Moses was not from 
Heaven; but the doctrine he taught 
them bore evident marks of its 
divinity. Obey this doctrine, and 
you will accomplish the will of my 
Father who is in heaven. 

41. Now the Jews did not compre- 
hend his meaning, because he called 
God, who is in heaven, his father. 
And they questioned one another 
saying, Is not this Jesus, the son of 
Joseph, whose father and mother we 
know? How is it, then, that he says 
his father is in heaven? Jesus al- 
luded to the doctrine he taught , and 
said, Whoever believes and acts up 
to its precepts will enjoy everlasting 
Life. 

51. In testimony of the truth ol 
my doctrine, I will sacrifice mysell 



52' 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = RKASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
theyfesAprofiteth nothing. How often 
does it happen that we torment the 
flesh — Sense — in obeying the moral 
law ! The more strictly we obey this 
laW of our Reason, the more shall we 
be entitled to the promised rewards inj 
the eternal kingdom of God. While, 
the desires of Sense are strictly con-; 
fined within rational limits, we need! 
not torment the flesh. This, how-; 
ever, can only be proved through Con- 
science. Thisspirit of (ruth will faith- 
fully decide on all occasions whether 
the set of sensations we propose to! 
enjoy are allowed or prohibited by the ! 
Moral Law seated in our Reason . To. 
obey the Word of God is always toi 
be strictly rational. To renounce the! 
devil, which means the sinful lusts: 
of the flesh, with the pomps and; 
vanities of the world of sensation, is 
to restrict our human desires, and: 
not suffer ourselves to be misled by! 
the Word of Man. Thus it is the' 
spirit that quickeneth; the flesh pro- 
fiteth nothing. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
for the benefit of the world. Jesus 
explained this to the Jews under the 
allegory of his own flesh and blood, 
saying, Whosoever eats my flesh and 
drinks my blood shall have eternal 
life — meaning, he that imbibes my 
principles, and acts according to 
my precepts, will be acceptable to 
God. 

58. This is the pure doctrine which 
I teach, and comes directly from 
Heaven. The legislation of Moses 
only regards the political conduct 
of men while here on earth : but 
the essence of my precepts regards 
the future welfare of the Soul liere- 
after. Jesus taught these things in 
the synagogues at Capernaum. 

66. Christ's disciples were alarmed 
at the severity of the doctrine taught 
by their master, and were about to 
recede ; but Jesus encouraged them 
by saying, Have I not chosen you 
twelve for my apostles, and yet one 
of you will betray me ! Here he al- 
luded to Judas Iscariot. 



CHAPTER VII. 

16. " The Doctrine that I teach! 1. After this, Jesus went to Ga- 
proves itself by its own purity."] lilee; for he knew that the Jews were 
Now, purity can never be found in! in quest of him. His brethren, how- 
the world of Sense, which consists of ever, recommended him to attend at 
sensation, that is, matter, which can the feast of the Tabernacles, which 
exist only in Time; consequently, it was at hand, and show himself; but 
is an inhabitant of the region of Eter- Jesus declined doing this, as he said 
NiTY,theonlyabodeof Reason, where he had much more to do before he 
purity, which is wholly spiritual, can sacrificed himself, 
alone reside. Hence the Doctrine 8. Jesus said to his brethren, I 
of Christ is perfect purity, and de- advise you to go to the feast, which 
scended from Heaven. The History they did. And afterwards he went 
of Christ relates to his material body, himself privately ; for the Jews were 
and to the actions he performed on in search of him, to apprehend him. 
earth. Thus is Christ perfect God About the middle of the feast, Jesus 
and perfect Man: perfect God when taught in the temple, at which the 
he identifies himself with the divine Jews marvelled, not knowing that he 
Doctrine he teaches; perfect Man could read. But Jesus said, The doc - 
in being composed of matter, and trine that I teach proves itself by its 
gravitating like all other objects of t own purity ; and this is spiritual or 



JOHN. 



529 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The "Word of GOD = REASON, The Word of MAN == SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly, 
sensible nature, our knowledge of! 
which can only come through His-; 

TORY. 

24. Judge not according to appear- 
ances, but judge correctly; that is, 
do not decide from the action which 
you see, but from the motive which ! 
you cannot see. Now, as you cannot j 
judge of that you do not see, this J 
judgmentmustbelongtoGod. Things; 
which affect Sense are the proper 
objects of the senses— -facts — and of' 
these no two individuals can univer-j 
sally agree, because no two men can 
at the same time be in precisely the ! 
same part of space. Hence the point 
of view or the contact never can be 
the same. If I place my hand upon 
any object, and say it produces aj 
sensation of heat in me, this must! 
depend on the relative state of my j 
hand, and the thing which I touch. I 
Now a time must elapse before another ! 
person can lay his hand upon the same j 
object, during which time much of 
its caloric may have escaped, and the ! 
temperature of the other hand may i 
be different. Then would arise an 
interminable dispute — one asserting 
the thing to be hot, the other saying 
it is cold. This must ever be the 
case with the sensations in each sen- 
tient being, as generated by Sense. 
Hence universality can never result' 
about things of experience or His- 
tory. Not so with Reason, which ' 
generates its own pure laws from ' 
itself: a law once evolved carries 
with it a Conviction that defies all 
cavil, and commands universal assent 
from all rational beings. That a circle 
is round is admitted by every person 
that has the use of his Reason, for 
if it is not round it is no circle. Adam 
must have thus formed the notion of 
a circle, as well also the last man 
that is to come into existence. How 
different are these principles of Rea- | 



Material, or Earthly. 
heavenly doctrine; for there is no- 
thing like it to be metwith on earth. 
If you circumcise on the sabbath- 
day, why are you angry because I 
heal the sick ? Some then said, He 
speaks out boldly; yet they thought 
he was not the expected Messiah : for 
they said, He would certainly do more 
miracles than this man has done. 

32. When the Chief Priests and 
Pharisees heard these remarks of 
the people, they dispatched officers 
to take him ; but they did not ap- 
prehend him. On the last day of the 
feast, Jesus said aloud, If any man 
thirst, let him come to me, and he 
shall drink of living water: alluding 
to the divine purity of the doctrine 
he taught. 

43. The Chief Priests and Pha- 
risees reproved the officers for not 
taking Jesus : but they defended their 
conduct, and said, Never man spake 
like this man. Are you also de- 
ceived? they retorted. Nicodemus 
said to the rulers: Does the law 
judge any man before he is heard in 
his own defence ? After this they all 
went home. 



530 



JOHN. 



BOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 
Material, or Earthly. 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
son from the sensations produced by 
Sense ! Now, as Jesus Christ has 
unfolded the laws of Practical 
Reason, and shown them to be the 
immediate Commandments of God, 
communicated to man through his 
Reason, what but absolutely perfect 
universality can result from this 
"Divine Revelation;" or else Rea- 
son would cease to be the medium of 
communion between Man and his 
Maker, and the Devil would inter- 
pose the authority of Sense, and 
overturn the "Kingdom of God" 
secured by Reason, and establish 
the " Region of Hell," generated by 
the sinful excesses of Sense ! Doc- 
trine, therefore, must be absolutely 
universal ; for that is no principle 
which admits of dispute. History, 
on the other hand, never can be uni- 
versal ; for the fact experienced by 
any one person never can be con- 
veyed to another, or fact would be- 
come principle. Therefore, judge 
not according to appearances, but 
judge correctly. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

3. " This woman was detected in 1. Shortly after this, Jesus went 

the very act of adultery, and, ac- to the Mount of Olives, and returned 

cording to the law of Moses, she in the morning to the temple, where 

should be stoned to death." Jesus he sat down and taught. Now the 

said, Ye judge after the flesh; that Scribes and Pharisees brought a 

is, according to Sense, or appear- woman to him who had been taken 
ances. I judge after the spirit ; that 



is, according to Reason ; therefore, 
" I judge no man." It belongs to 
God, the Author of Reason, to judge 
of the motive, which, being in Eter- 
nity, no man can see. All that 
man can do is to judge according to 
the action, which is evident to Sense, 
but this is the judgment of appear- 
ances, and must ever reside in Time. 



in adultery, and said, According to 
our law, as delivered to us by Moses, 
she should be stoned to death. But 
what say you ? This they did to try 
him, seeking some cause to accuse 
him. Jesus, pretending not to hear 
them, stooped down and wrote on the 
ground with his finger. And when 
he raised himself up again he said: 
Let him who is without sin cast the 



In this case, says the Saviour and first stone. When they heard this, 
enlightener of the world — " Let him finding that they were not acquit- 
who is without sin cast the first stone." ted by their own consciences, they 



JOHN. 



531 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
How can matter, which is sensation — 
the action — be otherwise than cor- 
ruptible and imperfect ; or how can 
principle, which is purely spiritual 
— the motive — be otherwise than 
pure perfection, as it proceeds from 
the Moral Law ! The " Autonomy 
of the Will" generates pure motives. 
The " Heteronomy of the Will " 
gives rise to impure maxims. The 
law of Moses is the law of Sense. 
The law of Christ is the law of 
Reason. 

18. When once you understand 
the new doctrine, you will find it im- 
possible not to admit its truth, and 
that its contrary is not conceivable. 
The Doctrine of Christ is perfectly 
pure and spiritual; it regards the 
salvation of the soul, which is spirit, 
consequently, all its precepts are 
grounded in Reason. The Institu- 
tions of Moses are of an earthly 
nature, and always refer to the con- 
dition of mankind in the world of 
Sense ; their ultimate aim being 
Happiness, which consists of the 
greatest sum of sensual enjoyment, 
and always relates to matter or sensa- 
tion. Matter resides in Time; Spirit 
inhabits Eternity. While you con- 
tinue to judge after the flesh, you 
never can comprehend the spiritual 
purity of the Doctrine of Christ. 

34. He who commits sin is the 
servant of sin ; yet may this servant 
be discharged : for as soon as virtue 
gains the ascendancy wee isdismissed. 
That is, when Reason holds the reins, 
the inclinations of Sense are re- 
strained within their proper limits, 
and the supremacy of Reason over 
Sense is established. Without this 
virtue, the " Kingdom of God " is 
unattainable, and we become devoted 
to vice, or the " Kingdom of Satan." 

58. Before Abraham was / am — 
iyio eifii. By this expression Christ , 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
one by one left the temple ; so that 
Jesus and the woman were left alone. 
On this Jesus said to the woman, 
Where are thy accusers? They are 
gone. Go thou likewise, and sin no 
more. 

12. Jesus continued teaching, and 
explained that his doctrine would 
enlighten the world, and whoever 
followed its precepts would prepare 
himself for everlasting life in the 
kingdom to come. The Pharisees 
objected that he bore witness in fa- 
vour of his own doctrine, and that 
his testimony might not be true. To 
which Jesus replied, When once you 
understand what I teach, you will 
find it impossible not to admit its 
truth ; for it is a perfectly pure 
spiritual doctrine, and has nothing 
earthly in it, as it only concerns the 
spirit, and not the flesh. But, while 
you continue to judge after the flesh, 
you never will be able to compre- 
hend the spiritual purity of what I 
teach. 

20. Jesus spake thus while he 
was teaching at the treasury in the 
temple, and yet no one laid hands on 
him. So he continued explaining 
his meaning to them, by saying, If 
you do not adopt the precepts I 
teach, you will die in your sins. 
For you may judge from the purity 
of my doctrine that it comes from 
Heaven; and all the while you re- 
main in ignorance of it you are of 
this world. But some did not under- 
stand him when he spoke of heavenly 
things; and some became converts 
to his doctrine. To these he said, If 
you continue to practise my princi- 
ples, then you are indeed my dis- 
ciples. 

:«. The Jews misunderstood Jesus, 

when he explained that if they were 

not under the influence of sin, they 

would be free. They supposed he 

z 5 



532 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE. 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
evidently meant to expound his doc- 
trine thus: I, the word, the Xoyog, 
or doctrine, am one of the essences of 
the Holy Trinity, which doctrine, 
coming from God, must have formed 
part of his essence before the crea- 
tion of the world; though now first 
made manifest in the person of Christ 
himself. The Doctrine taught by 
Christ came down from Heaven, 
therefore, it must have always ex- 
isted in Eternity, before all worlds. 
Bat God being not only the author 
but the essence of Reason, this Doc- 
trine must of necessity always have 
formed part of the Godhead, Qebg, 
or he could not have imparted it to 
his only begotten son, the \6yog, 
destined to make the " Divine Re- 
velation " to his creatures for the 
salvation of their souls. So the word 
was made flesh and dwelt among us; 
the spirit was incarnate — in other 
words, the moral principle seated in 
our Reason was revealed to us by 
the Saviour — "who was a light to 
lighten the Gentiles." But the crea- 
tion of a creature involves the idea 
of connexion — ffvve%VS — between 
the Maker and the thing made, the 
soid of man. As.however, the Maker, 
the Qebg, is spirit, the thing made, 
the soul, is also spirit, the Xoyos — 
surely the connexion, the avvexvg, 
must also be spirit. Hence the pure 
or " Holy Trinity," which ever was 
and ever will be : 

God the Father . . . . = ©so,'. 

God the Son = "koyoq. 

God the Roly Ghost . = ewzyps. 

It is true that the manifestation of 
this pure principle of Reason must 
first be awakened to us finite beings 
through the powers of Sense, and 
consequently the word must be made 
flesh, or matter, or sensation, or it 
could notaffectus in Time. If Reason 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
referred to bondage on earth, and 
directly affirmed that they were of 
the seed of Abraham, and never in 
bondage to any man. Jesus replied, 
I know you are the seed of Abraham, 
yet you seek to kill me because you 
have not understood my doctrine, 
and you cannot bear the truth. But 
I preach the pure doctrine from God, 
and you follow what you were taught 
by your father, Abraham. 

48. Those Jews who did not under- 
stand the doctrine of Christ charged 
him with being a Samaritan, and 
said he had a devil, meaning he 
was animposter. But Jesus replied, 
Whoever strictly keeps my precepts 
shall inherit everlasting life. The 
Jews, again mistaking him, thought 
he alluded to Abraham, who was 
dead, and said, You are not fifty years 
old, how then have you seen Abra- 
ham? To which Jesus replied, 
Before Abraham was, lam : meaning 
that, as the divine doctrine he taught 
came from God, it musthave always 
existed in the Godhead, though now 
first made manifest on earth. But the 
Jews were so much enraged against 
him, that they took up stones to 
throw at him as he went out of the 
temple, but he hid himself. 




JOHN. 



533 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
is the spirit of communion between 
man and his Maker, these principles 
will become evident to us when we 
1 ' shake off this mortal coil " of Sense 
and enter Eternity. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 



Material, or Earthly. 



CHAPTER IX. 

1. On another occasion, as Jesus 
and his disciples were passing along, 
they saw a man who was born blind. 
His disciples asked him, In this case 
who has sinned, the blind man or his 
parents? Jesus replied, Neither the 
one nor the other. It occurred for 
the purpose of manifesting my mis- 
sion. Having said this, he spat on 
the ground and anointed the eyes of 
the blind man with the moistened 
clay, and then directed him to wash 
himself in the pool of Siloam, and on 
his return he received his sight. 
The neighbours said, This surely is 
the blind beggar, and inquired how 
he had received his sight. He told 
them that a man called Jesus had 
performed the cure. 

13. The Pharisees sought to ac- 
cuse Jesus because he restored the 
blind man on the sabbath ; at first 
they doubted the fact, and called the 
parents of the blind man to prove that 
he was the same person. The Jews 
were so inveterate against Jesus, that 
they said, Whoever confesses that he 
is Christ shall be turned out of the 
synagogue. But Jesus said, I am 
sent into the world to give light to 
those who are born blind. The 
Pharisees considered that he might, 
allude to them and said, Are we blind 
also? Jesus replied, If you see my 
doctrine and follow its dictates yon 
will have no sin; if otherwise, you 
are blind indeed. 

CHAPTER X. 

9. The Doctrine I teach is the 1. Jesus then spake this parable 
door to salvation, and whoever adopts i to them : The good shepherd enters 



534 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
it is sure to enter into the kingdom 
of Heaven. This Doctrine comes 
from God, and its truth is manifested 
in man's own conscience, whereby he 
is convinced that such pure and 
spiritual precepts could not arise 
from earth. Whoever strictly fol- 
lows the dictates of the Moral Law, 
which God has planted in man's 
Reason, does the will of his Father 
who is in heaven, and enters in at 
the door of Salvation. If we allow the 
desires of Sense to stifle the voice 
of Reason, we are wholly devoted to 
Satan. How, then, can we enter 
in at the door of Salvation ! But, if 
we make it a. principle on all occasions 
to establish the supremacy of Reason 
over Sense, then, indeed, do we obey 
the Moral Law, and shall enter in at 
the door of Salvation. 

30. " I and my Father are one." I 
am the \6yog, the word, the doctrine, 
which ever constituted a part of my 
Father, Qebg, who is God. Hence I 
am the Son of God, begotten before 
all worlds, not made, being of the 
substance of the Father, who is a 
perfectly pure spirit, or an infinite 
intelligence personified: yet distinct 
from my Father, in having descended 
on earth, or in being incarnate, but 
always in communion with him 
through the Holy Spi?it of con- 
nexion, vvvexnQi between us. Hence 
arises the irrefutable doctrine of the 
Trinity in Unity. Thus God the 
Father; God the Son ; and God the 
Holy Ghost. And yet there are not 
three Gods but only ONE GOD, 
consisting of three Persons co-eternal 
and co-equal. Thus the infinite Rea- 
son made the finite Reason, which 
could notbe done without establishing 
the eternal connexion between them : 
Infinite Reason . . . = ©"V- 
Finite Reason . . . . = "k'oyoi . 
Eternal Connexion . = a-uvt^hs- 



The Word Of MAN — SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the sheep-fold by the door, and care- 
fully tends his flock , so that the sheep 
know his voice: he not only seeks 
out good pasture for them, but con- 
ducts them the best way to it, and 
sees that they are not devoured by 
wolves. But the stranger, who only 
pretends to be a shepherd, climbs 
over into the fold, like a thief and a 
robber, and when he calls to the 
sheep they know not his voice, nor 
will they follow him. The pretender 
comes only to steal, to kill, and to 
destroy: while the true shepherd 
preserves and protects his flock. 
The good shepherd will lose his life 
. for the sheep; but the pretender is 
indifferent whether the flock is de- 
stroyed or not. But the Pharisees 
understood not the purport of this 
discourse. 

20. The Jews were very much 
divided about the doctrine taught by 
Christ; some saying, Surely this 
man hath a devil and is mad : while 
others declared that there was too 
much sense in his words to proceed 
from a madman. 

22. At the feast of Dedication, Jesus 
was at Jerusalem, walking in that 
part of the temple called Solomon's 
Porch, and the Jews gathered round 
him, anxious to know whether he 
was the true Christ or not. Jesus 
said to them, I have told you and 
you believe me not ; let, therefore, the 
purity of my doctrine be witness of 
its own truth. Ye, however, are not 
my sheep, or you would know my 
voice. If you were, I would promise 
you a life of everlasting happiness ; 
but, while you are perverse, you are 
liable to eternal misery. 

31. At these sayings the Jews 
took up stones with the intent to 
stone him ; but Jesus said to them, 
Why do you wish to stone me for 
teaching you good doctrine? But 



JOHN. 



535 



DOCTRINE, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
All these principles are co-eternal and 
co-equal, for they can subsist only in 
the abode of Eternity, and must 
ever be exempt from Time, the mere 
depository of sensation, commonly 
called matter, or things of earth. 

38. I am in my Father and he is 
in me. That is, my pure spirit, or 
soul, forms no part of this material 
world, but at present is a member of 
the pure moral or spiritual region 
where my Father reigns. I am come 
down to earth to awaken your con- 
sciences to the truth of my Doctrine : 
that he alone shall enjoy eternal hap- 
piness who has made himself worthy 
to be admitted into my Father's king- 
dom by a virtuous course of life in 
this world of Sense and probation. 
But how could you be morally good, 
if the moral law was not placed in 
you by my Father, and my Father is 
the fountain of all goodness, conse- 
quently the moral law is also in him ? 
The Moral Law, or Practical Rea- 
son, must from all Eternity have 
constituted a part of God, 6t6c, or 
he could not have commissioned his 
only begotten Son , the Xoyoc, to have 
revealed it to his creatures in Time. 
This development of Reason consti- 
tutes the " Divine Revelation," and 
points out the direct road to Salva- 
tion, which consists entirely in re- 
stricting the instincts and inclina- 
tions of Sense within the bounds 
prescribed by Reason. So that those 
only are worthy to be admitted into 
the "Kingdom of Heaven" who 
lead a virtuous life from pure love of 
the Moral Low. 



The "Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
the Jews replied, It is for blasphemy; 
for that we wish to punish you, for, 
being merely a man, you make 
yourself God. The Jews did not 
understand the allegory which Christ 
employed in saying, I and my Father 
are one. They sought again to take 
him, but he escaped from them, and 
went beyond the Jordan, where John 
used to baptise, and there he re- 
mained some time. 



CHAPTER XI. 

1. Lazarus of Bethany, who was 
the brother of Mary, that anointed 
Christ's l'<'', wae taken seriously ill. 
Mary and her Bister Martha sent 
word to Jesus that their brother, 



536 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY. 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



25. I am the resurrection and the 
life ; and whoever believes my Doc- 
trine shall never die, but inherit 
everlasting life. To believe in the 
Doctrine of Christ is not only to 
adopt it, but strictly and on all occa- 
sions to act up to the law which is 
in our own Reason, and which com- 
mands that we should always act 
reasonably: so that the motive which 
induces the action should be per- 
fectly pure ; for, as our souls are not 
among the changeable phenomena 
of nature, they already form part of 
that kingdom of spirits which are to 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
whom he loved, was in a dangerous 
state. When Jesus heard this, he 
said, His illness will not be mortal. 
Now Jesus loved Lazarus and his 
two sisters, yet he remained in the 
place where he was two days after 
he received this news. Then he 
said to his disciples, Let us go again 
into Judea. 

8. The disciples reminded him of 
the narrow escape he lately had ; to 
which he replied, Are there not 
twelve hours day, in which we may 
subvert the schemes of our enemies ? 
He then explained to them that 
Lazarus was dead, and that he wished 
to restore him to life. Thomas, who 
was a twin, said to the other disciples, 
Let us go. And when they came to 
Bethany, which is not far from 
Jerusalem, they found that he had 
been in the grave four days. As 
soon as Martha heard that Jesus was 
coming, she went out to meet him ; 
but Mary remained at home. The 
instant she saw Jesus shesaid, Oh, if 
you had been here, my brother would 
not have died ! and I know that you 
have great influence with God, so 
that what you ask he will grant. 
Jesus replied, Your brother shall rise 
again. Martha then said, I am aware 
he will rise at the general resur- 
rection, and then went to tell her 
sister Mary that Jesus was near. 
Mary instantly rose and went to the 
place where Jesus was, and threw 
herself at his feet, saying, Oh, had 
you been here, my brother would 
not have died ! 

33. When Jesus saw Mary and 
those who followed her weeping, he 
wept himself, and asked where he 
was buried. When they arrived at 
the sepulchre, Jesus said, Remove 
the stone; but Martha said, Lord, 
by this time he stinks, for he has 
been dead four days. And when they 




JOHN. 



537 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
inhabit the world to come: thus, 
following the precepts of Christ will 
assure us of the resurrection and the 
life everlasting, in that kingdom pro- 
mised by Christ. That the soul, being 
spirit, is at the present moment 
already in Eternity, there can be 
no more doubt than that the body, 
being matter, is in Time. Reason 
generates spirit by syllogisms ; Sense 
produces matter by sensation. Spirit 
must inhabit Eternity, and matter 
must exist in Time. Hence the 
Doctrine of the resurrection of the 
soul, or spiritual body, needs no proof, 
for it is at present in the world to 
come, though not yet liberated from 
its clay. Whoever believes in this 
Doctrine can never die, but must 
inherit everlasting life. 



The "Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
had removed the stone from the 
entrance of the vault, he cried with 
a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 
The dead man came forth. And 
those who were present marvelled at 
his power. 

47. The Chief Priests and Pha- 
risees were at a loss how to act : for 
they said, As this man performs 
miracles, if we let him alone he will 
produce a commotion, and the Ro- 
mans will not only deprive us of our 
places, but we shall lose the nation. 
Caiaphas, the High Priest, then said, 
It is better that we should put one 
man to death than risk the destruction 
of the whole nation. From this time 
they made every attempt to secure 
him. But Jesus, being aware of their 
intention, left Jerusalem and went to 
Ephraim near the wilderness, where 
he remained with his disciples. 

53. When the Jewish Passover was 
near, many went up to Jerusalem to 
purify themselves for the feast, where 
they found that the Chief Priests and 
Pharisees had issued orders that, if 
any person knew where Jesus was, 
he should give immediate informa- 
tion. 



CHAPTER XII. 

1. Six days before the Passover, 
Jesus came to Bethany, the place 
where he had raised Lazarus from 
the dead. Here they prepared a 
supper for him, and Lazarus sat at 
table with him. Martha waited at 
supper ; but Mary anointed his feet 
with costly ointment, the odour of 
which filled the whole house. Judas 
Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed 
Christ, said, Should not this oint- 
ment be sold and the produce given 
to the poor? Not that this disciple 
cared for the poor, but because he 
was not a man of principle, who 
revered the' //or"/ laic in him. The 



538 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The "Word of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



24. Unless the seed which is sown 
in the ground die, it cannot produce 
the new plant, nor bring forth fruit. 
Man is born in sin ; and while he 
remains in sin he cannot enter the 
everlasting kingdom of God. As in 
Adam all die; so in Christ all shall 
live for ever. Unless the man of sin 
die, the spiritual man cannot be 
regenerated. The first man is of 
earth, earthy; the second man is of 
heaven , heavenly : but they are neces- 
sarily connected in this earthly state ; 
and these three elements constitute 
one man. This implies that on our 
first entrance into life we are under 
the influence of the inclinations or 
the laws of Sense ; but, when we 
begin to reflect on our ultimate de- 
stination, and feel the force of the 
mcrral law, that subjects all our in- 
clinations to this sublime law of our 
Reason, then , indeed , have we buried 
the man of sin, and are regenerated 
unto righteousness. 



The "Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
Chief Priests had some thoughts of 
putting Lazarus to death, as many 
Jews became converts in consequence 
of this miracle. 

12. On the following day, many 
people nocked to the feast, it having 
been rumoured that Christ was 
coming to Jerusalem , and many 
others went out to meet him, car- 
rying branches of palm-trees, and 
crying, Hosanna ! Blessed is the 
King of Israel who comes in the 
name of the Lord ! Jesus came riding 
upon a young ass, accompanied by 
throngs of people in full acclama- 
tion. The Pharisees were alarmed, 
and said, We have not much in- 
fluence to suppress his doctrine, for 
all the world are following him. 

20. Among those who came to 
worship at the Passover were some 
Greeks, who, being anxious to see 
Christ, asked Philip to introduce 
them to him ; Philip went to Andrew, 
and they told Jesus, who was willing 
to receive them. This was an im- 
portant time ; for Jesus was glorified 
at this feast; that is, his doctrine 
gained ground with the people. 
When Jesus had very fully expounded 
his doctrine, he departed secretly 
and hid himself. 

42. Among the rulers of the Jews 
many believed in Christ's doctrine ; 
yet they were afraid to avow their 
conviction, lest they should be put 
out of the synagogue. These men 
were more intent on earthly things 
than on heavenly ones. And Jesus 
said aloud, He that believes not my 
doctrine cannot believe in God ; I am 
not come to judge, but to save the 
world. The doctrine I preach is not 
from myself, but from God. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

] . Before the feast of the Pass- 
over, when Jesus was aware that he 



JOHN, 



539 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
could not escape long the punish- 
ment and death that awaited him, 
and after he and his disciples had 
done supper one evening, he took a 
basin of water and began to wash 
his disciples' feet. When he came 
to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, 
Lord, thou shalt never wash my feet. 
Jesus replied, If I wash thee not thou 
hast no part with me. Peter then , in 
order to prove how devotedly he was 
bound to Jesus, said, Not my feet, 
but my hands and my head also. As 
Jesus was proceeding with his task, 
he said, Ye are not all clean, alluding 
to Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. 
Jesus went through this ceremony on 
purpose to give them a practical les- 
son of humility ; exhorting them to 
do kind offices to each other, and live 
in love and affection together. 

21. After this condescension of 
Jesus, he remarked that one of them 
would betray him. The disciples 
wondered whom he could mean. A 
disciple whom Jesus loved was lean- 
ing on his bosom, and Simon Peter 
made a sign that he should ask 
him. Jesus then said, He to whom 
I shall give the sop when I have 
dipped it in the dish shall betray me. 
He gave the sop to Judas Iscariot, 
saying, What thou doest, do quickly. 
None of the disciples understood 
what Jesus meant by this remark ; 
for Judas was their purveyor, and 
they conceived he alluded to some 
provisions he was to purchase for the 
ensuing feast, or to distribute some 
alms to the poor. Judas immediately 
left them, and went out. Jesus then 
said to those who remained, I give 
you this commandment — Love one 
another as I have* loved you, that 
men may know you are my disciples. 

36. Simon Peter then said, Wher- 
ever you go I will follow you. But 
Jesus replied, Whither I go yon 




540 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The -Word of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENS! 



Material, or Earthly. 
cannot come at present. Peter again 
said, Lord, I will lay down my life 
for you! Jeus retorted : Peter, before 
the cock crows, thou shalt deny me 
thrice. 



CHAPTER 

6. I am the way, the truth, and the' 



life, and no one can enter the king- 
dom of God but through me. This; 
implies that the doctrine I teach is] 
the only perfect, pure, spiritual doc-j 
trine, which commands man on all! 



XIV. 

1. Jesus, being now aware of his 
approaching end, comforted his dis- 
ciples by assuring them that, if they 
continued to act up to the doctrine he 
taught, they should all meet again 
in his Father's kingdom. Neither 



occasions to obey the law established! Thomas nor Philip understood him ; 
in Reason — the moral law — and ifj but requested him to show them his 
he offends against this law how can; Father. Jesus replied, Have I been 
he hope to be acceptable to the; so long with you, teaching you my 
Author of Reason, who himself must! doctrine, and yet have not compre- 
be eminently Rational, and who must! hended it ! Have I not explained to 
abhor irrationality in his creatures!! you before that I am in my Father, 
Nothing can be more evident thatj and my Father is in me? If you love 
when Christ says, " I am the way, j me keep my commandments, and, 
the truth, the life,"' that he identifies ■ when I go to the bosom of my Father, 
himself with the perfectly pure di-j' I will pray to him to give you another 
vine Doctrine he teaches. Hencej Comforter, that may i*emain with 
his divinity is proved. This Doc-f you for ever, even the Holy Ghost, 
trine must be absolutely convincing! the spirit of truth, which dwelleth 
to every rational creature; for it is in you. 
the unfolding of all the principles off 
Practical Reason, which, beingl 
an emanation of the Divinity, must.- 
be divine. But the Practical Rea- 
son of Jesus Christ, in which alone 
consists his divinity, must have far 
surpassed every Practical Reason 
that was created and manifested in 
the flesh, otherwise, the Reason of 
some other man would have done 
the work that Christ was destined to 
finish in expounding the will of his 
heavenly Father. To doubt, there- 
fore, that Christ is the only begotten 
Son of God commissioned to reveal 
the Word of God to man would be 
to doubt the truth of the plainest 
axiom : — " that equals added to 
equals, the whole is equal.' 1 '' There- 
fore, when Christ is developing the , 



JOHN. 



541 



DOCTRINE,, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
principles of his own Practical 
Reason, he cannot do otherwise than 
identify himself with this divine fa- 
culty; and, knowing that this faculty 
did not make itself, but that its 
Author is God, he is perfectly sure 
that he is the " Son of God" the Sa- 
viour and Redeemer of the world, 
who, by his Atonement, became 
" the lamb that taketh away the sins 
of the ivorld." The lapse of nearly 
two thousand years, with all the en- 
lightenment which the progressive 
expansion of mind has produced, even 
till it has erected a perfectly pure 
" Science of Mind," boldly stands 
forth, with this very Science at its 
head, to confirm this great truth,! 
and to crush for ever all the enemies 
of the only true " Religion" — to 
detect their sophistry, and defeat 
their malice. Hence this glorious 
truth is established for ever — 
Christianity is Rationality. 

20. I am in my Father, and he is 
in me ; and I am in you, and you are 
in me. While we all act up to the 
dictates of the moral law, we are all 
equally spiritual in our motives, con- 
sequently equally rational. But, de- 
parting from this moral type, we lose 
our purity, and have nothing in com- 
mon with the pure spirit of God and 
his son Jesus Christ. Now, it is 
clear, that as the soul is spirit, it 
cannot dwell in the world of Sense, 
or it would be sensation, which has a 
he ginning, middle, arid end, in Time. 
When Christ says — " I am in my 
Father, and he is in me, 1 am in you, 
and you are in me " — what can this 
possibly mean but that he here iden- 
tifies himself with the perfectly pure 
and divine Doctrine he teaches! 
Christ here evidently alludes to his 
own pure Practical Reason. But 
his Reason is pure spirit ; and the I 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Material, or Earthly. 



542 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 
Author of Reason is also pure spirit ; 
but the beings whom he taught were 
also endowed with Reason, so that 
they are, likewise, pure spirit. Where, 
then, can these spirits reside but in 
Eternity! The spiritual communion 
of these spirits must then be perfect 
when they are all actuated by the 
same moral principle , all equally ra- 
tional in the purity of their motives. 
Hence may we hope, through the 
mediation of Jesus Christ, to enter 
the Kingdom of Heaven, and be made 
partakers of the divine grace. 

16. The Holy Ghost, the comforter 
which is in you, is — the spirit of 
truth. Man, being endowed with 
Reason, finds the moral law para- 
mount in his rational or moral 
nature. This law not only acknow- 
ledges God for its Creator, but is 
itself the immediate commandment 
of God, and ought to be obeyed 
under all circumstances. Its mani- 
festation is confirmed by the spirit of 
truth — Conscience — which is the 
immediate communion between man 
and his Maker, and may well be 
denominated the Holy Ghost. — 
Hence arises a Trinity in Unity : 

God the Father . . . = Author of Reason. 

God the Son . . . . = Reason incarnate. 

God the Holy Ghost = Relation. 
All these elements reside in Eter- 
nity, and must, therefore, be pure 
permanent principles, simple in their 
essence, and eternal in their nature. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Material, or Earthly. 



CHAPTER XV. 

1 . Jesus continued to console his 
disciples, and, knowing that his end 
was fast approaching, he now spoke 
the parable of the vine to them, 
always personifying his doctrine, the 
word, by himself. Jesus said, I am 
the true vine and my Father is the 
husbandman. Every branch that 
J does not bear fruit he casts away; 



JOHN. 



543 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
and the branches that do bear fruit 
he carefully prunes, in order that they 
may bear more fruit. Now you are 
cleansed by the word, that is, by the 
doctrine which I have taught you ; 
remain firm to its precepts, and you 
will be as the branch to the vine. 
The branch of itself cannot bring 
forth fruit unless it is connected with 
the vine. No more can you act upon 
my principles unless you are con- 
vinced of their truth : then you are 
in me and I am in you. And herein 
is my Father glorified; that you 
have adopted the doctrine which 
came down from Heaven, and which 
is made manifest on earth through 
me, and communicated by you to all 
the world. These things have I 
spoken that your joy may he com- 
plete. 

12. Remember my commandment, 
Love one another as I have loved you. 
He is indeed a true friend who will 
lay down his life for another. If you 
are my sincere friends you will do my 
bidding. I have chosen you and or- 
dained you my Apostles, that you 
may preach my doctrine to the whole 
world ; that the more adherents you 
make who stedfastly believe in my 
doctrine and act up to its divine pre- 
cepts the more will God be glorified. 
As the Ascendancy of Virtue must in 
the end crush, for ever, the monster 
Vice, then will the work for which 
my Father sent me be fully accom- 
plished. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

1. Christ continued to comfort 
his Apostles, by saying, In the service 
to which I have appointed you, you 
will meet with much opposition, you 
will be put out of the synagogues, 
and endure many hardships for my 
sake. And this will happen, because 
your opponents are ignorant of my 



544 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY., 



The "Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



33. I have overcome the world! 
In Christ we have, indeed, a practical 
example of the possibility of fully 
acting up to the moral law on all 
occasions, without the least regard 
to the consequences that may follow: 
resisting all the temptations of power 
and dominion and every thing earthly, 
that can gratify ambition or sooth the 
Sense ; and adhering strictly to the 
law of his own Pure Reason, which 
he made the sole rule of his conduct. 
Notwithstanding, he was persecuted, 
reviled, mocked, derided, insulted, 
and finally put to the most ignomi- 
nious death ; yet he rose superior to 
all the seductions of the inclinations 
of Sense, and the torments of the 
flesh, revering the Law of GWplanted 
in our Reason above all, and affording 
the most striking instance of a uni- 
formly good conduct throughout life ; 
constantly subduing the inclinations 
of Sense, and submitting them to the 
approval of Reason — thus leaving 
for the instruction of mankind an 
example and model which may be 
equalled but never can be excelled. 
Well then may Christ say — / have 
overcome the world! 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
doctrine, and know not that it comes 
from God. I say these things to 
: you, that you should not be deterred 
from preaching the true doctrine 
which ensures to yourselves ever- 
lasting communion with me and my 
Father, in his kingdom of never- 
ending bliss. 

I . Nevertheless, it is expedient that 
you should go and preach the Gospel, 

: reprove the world of sin, and establish 
truth and righteousness in its stead. 

, And when the spirit of truth, the 
Holy Ghost, which is in you, is awa- 
kened, it will guide you into all truth, 
so that you shall be convinced that 

' my doctrine comes from God. 

II. When Jesus said, In a little 
while you shall not see me, because I 

, go to my Father, his disciples did 
: not understand his meaning. He, 
: knowing their perplexity, explained 
further by saying — When lam gone 
your troubles will increase, and you 
will have much to endure for the 
sake of truth. The world, however, 
will be benefited by your labours, 
and, though you have sorrow in this 
world, when you join me in the king- 
dom of my Father, your joy will not 
only be great, but everlasting. 

21. Jesus still further illustrated 
his meaning by saying, When a 
woman is suffering from the pangs 
of child-birth, her agony is extreme ; 
but, this important end of nature 
accomplished, how great is her joy 
that she hath given to the world a 
new member, to glorify God, in her 
newly-born infant. So, when you 
see me again, your work being done, 
your hearts will rejoice in the true 
spiritual joys of heaven, which no 
man can wrest from you. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

1. Jesus now prayed fervently to 
, God, and said, My hour is come; 



JOHN. 



545 



D0CTR1XE, 



HISTORY,, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Material, or Earthly. 
my mission is nearly accomplished. 
Oh Gorl, who hast given me power 
over all flesh , that in my example the 
world may be convinced of the prac- 
ticability of strictly adhering to the 
dictates of virtue, even when sur- 
rounded with all the seductions of 
vice, and the torments and cruelties 
of the wicked. And now I have 
finished the work which thou gavest 
me to do. 

6. I have manifested thy name 
throughout the world, by giving it 
the word — the Koyog — the doctrine 
— which thou gavest to me. This 
they have received, and therefore 
they know surely that I come from 
thee. Now have I glorified thee on 
earth. 

11. Holy Father, keep my Apostles 
in the light of thy holy word, that 
they may continue to propagate the 
Gospel among all nations, and awaken 
in them the dormant spirit of truth, 
which thou hast placed in their 
Reason, for the salvation of their 
souls. 

18. For, as thou hast sent me into 
the world, so have I also sent them 
to preach thy word — the spirit of 
truth. So that all who adopt my 
doctrine, being actuated by the same 
pure spirit of truth, will form one 
kingdom of spirits, who acknowledge 
no other law than the pure moral 
law; and, all being united by the 
same spiritual bond, may be said to 
have the same doctrine in them — the 
word of God — and as such to belong 
to God. Thus arises the glorious 
victory of Reason over the incli- 
nations of Sense, or the total destruc- 
tion of vice by the complete triumph 
(A virtue. 

25. Oh, Righteous Father, the 
world hath not known thee until 1 
preached thy word to them. I will 
continue until my death to declare 



546 



JOHN. 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly, 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
thy pure spiritual doctrine to them. 
So that they may love me, as I love 
thee, and that they may be in me as 
I am in thee. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



1. After Jesus had discoursed in 
this pious manner to his disciples, 
he went with them across the brook 
Cedron, into a garden, whither they 
used frequently to resort. Judas 
Iscariot was quite familiar with the 
place, as he oftentimes accompanied 
Jesus to the garden. Judas, sus- 
pecting they had retreated to this 
spot, and being furnished with officers 
and men by the Chief Priests and 
Pharisees, went to apprehend him, 
prepared with lanterns, torches, and 
weapons. 

4. Jesus, seeing them approach, 
went towards them, and said, Whom 
seek you? They replied, Jesus of 
Nazareth. Jesus then said, I am he. 
Now Judas was standing with those 
who came to seize him. But, when 
they heard that Jesus said I am he, 
they retired and prostrated them- 
selves. Jesus then said, If you seek 
me, send your retainers away, and 
I will attend you. Simon Peter, 
enraged at the insult offered his 
master, drew his sword, and struck 
off the ear of Malchus, the High 
Priest's servant ; but Jesus reproved 
him, saying, Shall I not drink the 
cup my Father has prepared for me ! 

12. They then bound ^us, and 
took him first to Annas, who was 
father-in-law to Caiaphas, the High 
Priest. It was Caiaphas who re- 
marked that it was better that one 
man should suffer than the nation be 
destroyed. Simon Peter and another 
disciple followed Jesus to the palace. 
As this disciple was known to the 
High Priest, he went in with Jesus, 
and also obtained the introduction of 



JOHN, 



547 



DOCTRINE, 



The Word of GOD == REASON, 



HISTORY, 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

Peter ; but the damsel who kept the 
door challenged Peter as being one 
of Christ's disciples. This Peter 
denied. While Peter was warming 
himself, some person said, Thou art 
also one of his disciples ; but this he 
denied, and said I am not. Then 
one of the High Priest's servants, 
who was related to the man whose 
ear Peter cut off, said, Surely we saw 
you in the garden with Jesus. This 
Peter likewise denied, .and imme- 
diately the cock crew. 

19. Jesus was then interrogated 
by the High Priest regarding his 
doctrine and his disciples. Jesus 
answered, What I taught I taught 
openly to the world. I taught in 
the synagogues and in the temple 
before the whole congregation; in 
secret I taught nothing. One of the 
officers reproved Jesus for speaking 
out so boldly before the High Priest, 
and struck him with the palm of his 
hand. Jesus then meekly said, Have 
I spoken disrespectfully that you 
strike me thus? if not, I do not merit 
your reproof. 

28. Early on the following morn- 
ing, they led Jesus to the Hall of 
Judgment, where Pontius Pilate 
presided. Pilate inquired what ac- 
cusation they brought against him. 
The Jews replied, If he had not been 
a malefactor, we should not have 
brought him to you. Pilate said, I 
think you had better take him and 
judge him according to your own 
laws. But the Jews reminded the 
Roman Governor that they were 
deprived of the power of condemning 
to death. Pilate, therefore, entered 
the Hall, and began to interrogate 
.lesus, asking him ?/' he called him- 
self the King Of the Jews/ Jesus, 
in reply, said, Do you propose this 
question from yourself, or have you 
been instigated to make this charge 

A A 



5-18 



JOHN- 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. Material, or Earthly. 

against me ? Pilate said, I am not a 
Jew; it is the Chief Priests and 
Scribes of your own nation who 
have delivered you over to be judged 
by me. Pilate again said, Art thou 
a King? Jesus replied, You have 
said it ; but my kingdom is not of 
this world ; I came to the world to 
bear witness to the truth. Pilate 
asked him, What is truth? He 
then said to the Jews, I find no 
fault in this man. It is customary 
with you at the Passover to release 
a criminal, shall I release to you the 
King of the Jews? They all cried, 
No ; not this man, but Barabbas. 
Now Barabbas was a robber. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

1. Pilate then ordered Jesus to 
be scourged, and the soldiers platted 
a crown of thorns, put it on his head, 
and invested him with the royal pur- 
ple, crying — Hail, King of the Jews! 
They then reviled him and maltreated 
him. Pilate, seeing this, repeated, 
Remember I find no fault in him. 
And, perceiving how they were mock- 
ing him, he said, Behold the man! 
But the Chief Priests and Officers 
cried the more, Crucify him, Crucify 
him ! Pilate was yet very desirous 
to obtain his discharge. The Jews 
told him if he did not pass sentence 
on Jesus he was not Caesar's friend, 
as making himself a kingwas a crime 
against Caesar. Then the Jews voci- 
ferated, Away with him ! we acknow- 
ledge no King but Caesar. 

16. The Jews then led Jesus away 
to be crucified, to a place called Gol- 
gotha, where they crucified him with 
two others, and placed this in- 
scription on the cross — Jesus of 
Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 
The inscription was written by Pilate 
in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The 
Jews wanted the words inserted he 






JOHN. 



549 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 

Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word Of MAN == SENSE 

Material, or Earthly, 
said I am the King of the Jews ; hut 
Pilate said, What I have written T 
have written. 

23. When Jesus was crucified, the 
soldiers cast lots for his garments. 
There were present at the cross, 
Mary, the mother of Jesus, her sister 
Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and 
Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw 
his mother and the disciple whom he 
loved, he said to his mother, Woman, 
behold thy son ! and he said to the 
disciple, Behold thy mother ! The 
disciple then took her under his pro- 
tection. Shortly after this, Jesus 
complained of thirst : they then filled 
a sponge with vinegar and put it to 
his mouth. Jesus then said, It is 
finished, bowed his head, and gave 
up the ghost. 

31. As this was the day of prepa- 
ration for the Passover, the Jews 
intreated Pilate that he would order 
his soldiers to break the legs of those 
who were crucified, and have the 
bodies taken away before the sab- 
bath, for that sabbath was an im- 
portant day. The soldiers, having 
broken the legs of the two that were 
executed with him, when they came 
to Jesus, perceiving that he was dead, 
did not break his legs. But one of 
the soldiers pierced his side with a 
spear, and blood and water issued 
from the wound. 

38. Joseph of Arimathaea, who 
was a disciple of Jesus, went pri- 
vately to Pilate and begged the body ; 
for he was afraid of the Jews. Joseph, 
with the assistance of Nicodemus, 
took the body and placed it in a new 
sepulchre, which was in a garden 
near the spot where Jesus was cru- 
cified. 

CHAPTER XX. 

1. Very early in the morning of the 
, first day of the week, Mary Magda- 



550 



JOHN 



DOCTRINE, 




The Word Of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
lene came to the sepulchre, and found 
the stone removed from the entrance. 
She then went to Simon Peter and the 
other disciple whom Jesus loved, and 
told them that the body was taken 
away out of the sepulchre. Peter 
and the other disciple proceeded im- 
mediately to the tomb, and found that 
the information they had -received 
was perfectly correct. So they de- 
parted to their own homes. 

11. But Mary remained close by 
the tomb weeping, and, stooping 
down, she looked into the sepulchre, 
where she saw two angels clothed in 
white sitting at the head and feet of 
the place where the body had lain. 
They addressed her, and inquired 
why she wept; and she replied, 
Because they have taken away my 
Lord, and I know not where they 
have laid him. As soon as she had 
done speaking, she turned round, and 
saw some one standing there, who 
asked her why she wept, and whom 
she sought. She supposed this to be 
the gardener, and said, If you have 
borne the body hence, tell me where 
you have laid it. But it was Jesus 
himself who stood by her, and said, 
Mary! and she immediately knew 
him. He said to her, Touch me not, 
for I have not yet ascended to my 
Father. 

18. Mary Magdalene then went 
and told the disciples that she had 
both seen and spoken to Jesus. On 
the evening of the same day, Jesus 
stood in the midst of his disciples 
where they assembled, and said to 
them, Peace be unto you. He then 
showed his hands and his side ; and 
the disciples rejoiced that they had 
seen their Lord. He again said, 
Peace be unto you ; for I now im- 
part to you the spirit of truth — the 
Holy Ghost. 
24. It so happened that Thomas, 




DOCTRINE, 



The Word of GOD = REASON, 
Spiritual, or Heavenly. 




The Word Of MAN = SENSE, 



Material, or Earthly. 
one of the twelve, was not there 
when Jesus presented himself. They, 
however, informed him that they had 
seen Jesus ; but he could not credit 
what they told him, saying, Unless 
I put my finger on the prints of the 
nails in his hands, and feel the wound 
in his side, I will not believe that it 
is he. 

26. Eight days after this, Jesus 
came again to his disciples, and stood 
in the midst of them, saying, Peace 
be unto you. This time, Thomas 
was present, and Jesus said to him, 
Thomas, reach your finger here and 
feel my hands, and also feel the 
wound in my side. Thomas said, 
Now indeed I do believe. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



1. After this, Jesus presented him- 
self again to the disciples on the shore 
of the sea of Tiberias, where were as- 
sembled Peter, Thomas, and Natha- 
niel, and James and John, the sons of 
Zebedee. They all agreed with Peter 
to go and fish, but they caught 
nothing that night. On the follow- 
ing morning, a person whom they 
did not know inquired what success 
attended their efforts. They replied 
they had toiled all night and caught 
nothing. He then directed them to 
cast the net on the right side of the 
ship, which they did, and the multi- 
tude of fishes was so great that they 
with difficulty brought them to land. 
The disciple whom Jesus loved said 
to Peter, Surely this is Christ. They 
then all came to land, dragging the 
net with the fishes. 

12. Jesus said to them, Come and 
dine ; bring some of the fish you 
have just caught. Though the 
disciples felt persuaded that it was 
Christ, yet none of them dared ask 
him the question. This was the third 
time that Jesus had showed himself 




552 



JOHN, 



DOCTRINE, 



HISTORY, 



The Word Of GOD = REASON, 



Spiritual, or Heavenly. 



The "Word of MAN = SENSE, 

Material, or Earthly. 
to his disciples since he had risen 
from the dead. 

15. When they had dined, Jesus 
said to Peter, Do you love me more 
than these ? Peter replied, You know, 
Lord, that I love you. — Then feed 
my lambs. He then asked him a 
second time the same question, and 
obtained the same reply. He then 
said, Feed my sheep. On repeating 
this question a third time, Peter 
was hurt ; for it seemed to indicate 
doubt. 



LONDON: 

F. SHOBERL, JUN. 4, LEICESTER STREET, LEICESTER SQUARE. 



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